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FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN 




CHRIST RAISING LAZARUS FROM THE TOMB 



Bible Readings 




WRITTEN IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE 



AND EMBRACING THE 



Whole Narrative of the Old and 

New Testaments 



PREPARED EXPRESSLY FOR THE 

INSTRUCTION, ENTERTAINMENT AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE 

OF PERSONS OF ALL AGES, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG 

PEOPLE IN OUR HOMES, SUNDAY SCHOOLS, 

SOCIETIES OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS, 

ETC., ETC. 

CONTAINING ALSO 

A Choice Collection of Religious Emblems 

THE WHOLE DESIGNED TO PROMOTE 

A Greater Interest in the Bible and a Better Understanding of 

its Sacred Teachings 



BY 



HENRy DAVENPORT NORTHROP, D.O., 

Author of "Story of the New World," "Golden Manual," etc. 



PROFUSELY EMBELLISHED WITH SUPERB ENGRflUINGS 

g 1^ 



National Publishing Company 

Nos. 239, 241 and 243 Levant St, 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 







TWO COPIES RECEIVED 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897 by 

J. R. JONES, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. D. C 

All Rights Reserved. 



/ 



J/i? 



J IP 
PREFACE. 



THE BEAUTIFUL STORIES of the Bible never lose their charm. They are 
always new, captivating and soul-stirring. The young read them with eager 
delight, yet no greater than that of the old. The great French writer, Victor 
Hugo, said the narratives of the Bible were for every mansion and cottage, and 
one of our greatest American statesmen said that unless the lessons they teach are learned 
by the masses of the people there is no future for the Nation. 

The young are in the springtime of life, and it is easy to plant in their hearts the noblest 
truths and principles. They are the hope of our country, and our new and attractive work, 
beautifully illustrated, ought to be put into the hands of every one of them. It will be 
handled with ever-growing interest, read over and over again, and the thrilling truths and 
beautiful lessons it contains will never be forgotten. 

This volume is very comprehensive, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation, 
• -. first pages are fragrant with Eden's floral bowers, and the last pages sparkle with the 
ers of the River of Life. The fascinating story of one event follows that of another until 
. whole Bible history is told in language choice and plain, and suited to every age. 

Let the story of Joseph in Egypt be read by every fireside. He was truthful, diligent, 
noble, and he dared to do right. Everywhere the Bible Story teaches the weightiest lessons. 
Majestic Moses is seen as the great leader and lawgiver of the Hebrew nation. He is 
pictured in his little life boat, at the burning bush, and on stormy Sinai, " whose rolling 
thunders jar the world." 

That great captain, Joshua, passes the River Jordan with his valiant host, and soon we 
hear the shout of victory. Gideon with his little army; Jephthah performing his rash vow; 
Samson vanquishing the lion and carrying the gates of Gaza; and Ruth gleaning in the 
fields of Boaz — the story of each is fully told. Then comes the charming account of the 
little boy Samuel who gave sign in childhood of what the man would be. The life of that 
strange monarch, King Saul, was full of startling incidents and ended in a tragedy. David, 
the Shepherd Boy, next appears upon the scene. 

Solomon is depicted in his dazzling glory ; the Temple rises in grandeur and beauty 
before our eyes, and then comes that strange man of the desert, the Prophet Elijah, who 
boldly rebuked public corruption. One after another the Hebrew Kings and the thrilling 
events associated with their names are fully described. Every reader is delighted with the 
graphic stories of the Jewish Captivity ; of heroic Daniel in Babylon ; of that young 
patriot, Nehemiah ; of Queen Esther, saving her people. 

How eagerly the world reads the Charming Story of Bethlehem — the story of the 
angelic choir ; of the wondering shepherds who heard the heavenly anthem of Peace and 
Good-will ; of the Holy Child laid in the humble manger; of the burning Star that lighted 



iv PREFACE. 

the Wise Men of the East to the feet of the infant Prophet, Priest and King ; and the thrill- 
ing incidents connected with His early life. As He grew up His hands were browned with 
honest toil, and He was a King without the crown or purple. 

In simple yet vivid language the captivating story is continued, and the interest grcws 
at every step as the striking scenes are unfolded — such as the Expulsion of the Money- 
Changers from the Temple; the beautiful discourse to the woman of Samaria; the delivery 
of the famous Sermon on the Mount, containing the grandest truths ever spoken; the 
stilling of the storm -tossed Sea of Galilee and the Rescue of Peter from a watery grave; 
the calling of the hardy fishermen to throw the Gospel Net and catch the kingdoms of the 
world ; and those noble deeds of love and mercy that gave healing to the sick, sight to the 
blind, hope to the desponding and life to the dying. 

How simple are the New Testament Parables, yet how sublime are their thoughts and 
beautiful their lessons. It has been well said that they are " Jewels in Words." 

The Closing Scenes in the Life of Christ depict the most startling tragedy known in 
history. In graphic pen-pictures the scenes of the Crucifixion are portrayed, and these are 
followed by the rending of the tomb and the sublime ascension. It would not be possible 
for human pen to depict more vividly those majestic events, at once awful and fascinating, 
which form the closing part of Christ's life upon earth. 

Then follows by a full account of the Lives of the Apostles. The graphic story 
embraces the brilliant career of the Apostle Paul, his stripes and persecutions ; his perils 
and sufferings, his thrilling shipwreck and last days at Rome. 

To these are added Sacred Allegories, by Rev. William Adams, who surpasses all other 
writers in teaching the most beautiful lessons under the captivating forms of parables and 
stories. This is a most delightful part ot this very comprehensive volume. 

The author of this delightful volume has followed closely the Bible narrative, using 
largely the exact language of the Holy Scriptures. In no instance has he departed from 
the meaning of the Sacred writers, yet making explanations in simple language wherever 
needed. The work will be found especially valuable to Parents and others desiring to 
instruct the young in the Truths of Religion. 

Special attention is called to the Vast Gallery of Superb Illustrations which this great 
work contains. These are new, and are the masterpieces of the world's most famous 
artists. The Emblematic Engravings teach the most striking truths of the Bible in a manner 
not likely to be forgotten. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 
The Story of the Creation. 

PAGB 

The Story of the Creation — What was Made on 
Each Day — Adam and Eve in the Garden of 
Eden — The Serpent Beguiles Eve — Cherubim 
and a Flaming Sword — Cain Kills his Brother 
Abel — A Mark Set Upon Cain 17 

CHAPTER II. 
The Story of the Flood. 

The Story of the Flood— The World Growl 
Very Wicked — Noah Commanded to Build an 
Ark for the Saving of His Family — Every 
Living Thing on the Dry Land Destroyed— 
Noah Leaves the Ark and Offers Sacrifice— 
The Tower of Babel — Confusion of Tongue® 
and Scattering of the People 25 

CHAPTER III. 
The Story of Abraham. 

Hie Story of Abraham — Destruction of Sodom 
and Story of Lot — Hagar and Ishmael Sent 
Away — Abraham Offering up Isaac — Journey 
of Abraham's Servant — Isaac and Rebekah — 
Isaac Obtains a Wife from a far Country . 

CHAPTER IV. 



33 



The Story of Esau and Jacob. 

The Story of Esau and Jacob — Birthright Sold 
for a Mess of Pottage — Two Kids from the 
Flock — Jacob Obtains the Blessing of Isaac — 
Dream of the Ladder and Angels — Jacob 
Visits Laban— Leah and Rachel — Serving 
Fourteen Years to Obtain Rachel for a Wife — 
Happy Meeting of Jacob and Esau .... 49 

CHAPTER V. 

The Story of joe-*?-* 

The Story of Joseph — a Doy m a Pit — Sold 
Away in^o Egypt — The Coat Dyed with 
Blood — Telling the Meaning of Dreams — 



Wearing the King's Ring— Famine in all 
Lands — Joseph's Brethren in Egypt- -Jacob 
and Benjamin 59 

CHAPTER VI. 
Joseph and his Brethren in Egypt. 

Joseph and his Brethren in Egypt — The Feast 
in the Palace — Story of Benjamin — The Cup 
in the Sack— The Plea of Judah— Joseph 
Makes Himself Known to his Brethren- 
Jacob's Journey to Egypt — A Home in a Far 
Country — The Blessing of Joseph's Two Sons 
—Jacob's Death and Burial — Last Days of 
Joseph 71 

CHAPTER VII. 



The 



The Story of Moses. 
Story of Moses— The Little Lifeboat- 



9* 



Adopted Child of Pharoah's Daughter — Cruel 
Treatment of the Israelites in Egypt — Moses 
Slays an Egyptian — At the Burning Bush — 
Aaron's Rod Becomes a Serpent — The Ten 
Plagues — The First-born of the Egyptians 
Slain — Feast of the Passover — The Hebrews 
Pass Through the Red Sea — Pharaoh and his 
Host Drowned — The Song of Triumph . . . 

CHAPTER VIII. 
From the Red Sea to Sinai. 

From the Red Sea to Sinai— The Bitter Waters 
Made Sweet — Bread from Heaven — A Flock 
of Quails — Water from the Rock in Horeb — 
Battle with the Amalekites— The Ten Com- 
mandments Spoken from Sinai — Story of the 
Tabernacle and its Services — The Scapegoat 
Sent into the Wilderness ..... . iol 

CHAPTER IX. 
Wanderings in thf Wilderness. 

The Golden Calf — Moses Angry and Breaks thfc 
Tables of the Law — The Glory of Mouul 

V 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



Sinai — Numbering the People — The Pillar of 
Fire — The Israelites Murmur— Punishment by 
Fire — A Strong Wind Brings Quails for Food — 
Spies Sent to the Promised Land — The Brazen 
Serpent — Story of Balaam and Balak — Death 
of Moses -The People Mourn Thirty Days . 119 

CHAPTER X. 
The Story of Joshua. 

Story of Joshua — Arrival of the Israelites at 
Jordan — Crossing the River — Rahab and the 
Spies -Capture of Jericho — Battle at the City 
of Ai— Achan Stoned for Theft— Men in Old 
Clothes — A Furious Hailstorm— Joshua's 
Great Victory — The People Choose Whom 
they will Serve 135 

CHAPTER XI. 
The Story of Gideon. 

The King of Moab Slain — Deborah Judges tfoe 
People — The Host of Sisera Scattered — 
Gideon and the Angel — Choosing an Army — 
Three Hundred Warriors — Trumpets and 
Pitchers — A Great Victory — Gideon's Wicked 
Sou — Capture of a City — Abimelech Killed 
by a Young Man , . 152 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Story of Samson. 

Jephthah and his Daughter — An Angel Comes 
to Manoah— Birth of Samson — The Slain Lion 
— Honey from a Strange Source — A Hard 
Riddle to Guess — Jackals in the Corn — 
Samson Breaks his Bonds — The Giant Loses 
his Strength — The Cunning Trick of Delilah — • 
Pillars of the Temple Fall— Death of Samson 166 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Story of Ruth. 

A Famine at Bethlehem — Naomi Returns from 
Moab — Ruth Cleaves to her Mother-in-law — 
Gleaners in the Harvest Field — Ruth at the 
Feet of Boaz — The Shoe Given to a Neighbor 
—Ruth Becomes the Wife of Boaz . . . .174 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Story of Samuel. 

The Story of Samuel — Hannah's Prayer — The 
Boy Hears a Voice Calling Him — Sudden 



PAQB 

Death of EH— Trouble with the Philistines— 
The Ark Carried Away — A Great Victory — 
Samuel Sets up a Stone — The Israelites Want 
a King 181 



CHAPTER XV. 
The Story of Saui,. 

Story of Saul— A Vial of Oil— Saul is Made 
King — Israel's Army — War with Amalek — The 
King's Disobedience — The Torn Mantle— An 
Evil Spirit— The Shepherd Boy and his Harp- 
David is Pursued — Saul and the Witch of 
Endor— The Last Battle— Death of Saul— 
What Was Done with the King's Body . . .19, 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Story of David. 

The Story of David — Anointed by the Piophet — 
The Sling that Slew a Giant— The Enemy 
Routed — Saul's Anger Against David— Jona- 
than's Friendship — The Wanderer — Saul 
Spared by David— Abigail Sends a Present 
and Becomes David's Wife— What Happened 
at Ziklag — Startling News from the Field of 
Battle 203 



CHAPTER XVII. 
The Reign of David. 

The Reign of David — W . with the Philistines— 
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem — David and 
Uriah — Nathan's Rebuke — Parable of the Ewe 
Lam^ - The Dead Child— Rebellion of Absa- 
lom—David's Flight— A Great Battle — Death 
of Absalom — David's Grief— A Kis: and a 
Stab— Terrible Pestilence — David Yields his 
Throne to Solomon 22J 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Story of Solomon. 

The Story of Solomon — David's Choice of a 
King— The Anointing — Building the Temple 
— The Ark Placed in the Holy of Holies — 
The Dedication of the Lord's House — Solomon 
Punishes Wrong-Doers — Dispute About a 
Child — Visit from the Queen of Sheba — A 
Magnificent Throne — Horses and Chariots — 
Sin of Idolatry — Solomon's Proverbs — The 
Fool and Wise Man— The Virtuous Woman . 238 



CONTENTS. 



VII 



CHAPTER XIX. 
The Story of Eeijah. 

PAGE 

The Story of Elijah— Fed by Ravens— The 
Widow's Cruse of Oil and Barrel of Meal — 
Story of the Dead Child— The Prophet on 
Carmel — Rain in Answer to Prayer — Under 
the Juniper Tree— Elijah on Mount Horeb — 
Naboth and his Vineyard — The Arrow that 
Smote Ahab — Ahaziah Conies to the Trone — 
Jehu Anointed King — Death of Jezebel — Elijah 
Taken up into Heaven 257 



CHAPTER XX. 
The Story of Eeisha. 

The Story of Elisha— Salt in the Water— War 
Against Moab — The Prophet's Chamber — The 
Woman of Shunem — Restoring a Dead Child 
— A Terrible Famine — Vessels of Oil — Iron 
Made to Swim — Story of Naaman — Sin of 
Gehazi — A Young Man's Vision — Stoning of 
the High-Priest — What Happened in Syria — 
Elisha' s Last Words and Death — The Syrians 
Defeated —Parable of the Thistle and Cedar . 273 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Two Prophets and a King. 

Two Prophets and a King—Jonah Sent to Nine- 
veh — A Prophet Cast into the Sea— The Great 
Fish— A Good King in Judah— The Temple 
Purified — A Royal Feast —The Sickness of 
Hezekiah — Babylon and Assyria — Message 
from the Assyrian King — Isaiah Gives Cour- 
age to the Jews — A Wonderful Vision . . . 287 



CHAPTER XXII. 
The; Story of Daniee. 

The Story of Daniel— Captivity of the Jews- 
Three Hebrew Youths — The King's Great 
Image — The Fiery Furnace — Handwriting on 
the Wall — Weighed and Found Wanting — 
Daniel's Enemies — In the Den of Lions — A 
Remarkable Vision 298 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Return from the Captivity. 

Return from the Captivity — Rebuilding the 
Temple — King Darius — Ezra Arrives at Jeru- 
salem—Too Much Wickedness— Wives Taken 
from the Heathen— Arrival of Nehemiah— 



The Walls Rebuilt— The Enemy Thwarted— 
Ezra Reads the Law — Story of Queen Esther 
— A Great Feast — Queen Vashti — The Jews in 
Danger — Haman's Wicked Plot — Esther 
Saves Her People — Haman Hanged .... 311 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Story of Job. 

The Story of Job — Sons, Daughters and Great 
Possessions — Satan Among the Sons of God — 
Messengers Bring Startling News — Job 
Afflicted with Boils — A Visit from Three 
Friends — Job's Grievous Complaint — Better 
Days at Last — Presents and Congratulations — 
Increase of Riches 332 

CHAPTER XXV. 
The Story of Betheehem. 

The Story of Bethlehem — A Roman Emperor — 
Zacharias in the Temple — An Angel Brings a 
Message — Birth of John Foretold — An Angel 
Appears to Mary — Elisabeth Visits Her Cousin 
— The Child Named John — Joseph and Mary 
at Bethlehem— Birth of the Child Jesus— The 
Angels and Shepherds — Scene in the Temple 
— Happy Old Simeon — Good News for the 
World — The Anthem of Peace 339 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
What Foeeowed the Baptism. 

Story of John the Baptist — Jesus on the Banks 
of the Jordan — The Temptation in the Wilder- 
ness — The Fishermen Become Disciples — The 
Miracle in Cana of Galilee — Wine from Water 
— Jesus in Jerusalem — Buyers and Sellers 
Driven from the Temple — Words of Jesus not 
Understood — The Man Who Came by Night — 
Discourse to Nicodemus 357 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Jesus Returns to Gaei^EE. 

The People of Samaria — The Woman at Jacob's 
Well — The Water of Life — In the Synagogue 
at Nazareth — Hatred of the Jews — Healing the 
Son of a Nobleman — Casting Out a Devil — 
Wonderful Cures— Jesus Calls Peter and An- 
drew — Discourses Upon the Law and Provi- 
dence — A Lesson from Birds and Flowers — 
House Built on the Rock — A Leper healed— 
The Widow's Son Raised to Life 36} 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Jesus Teaching and Heading. 

PAGE 

Jesus Dines in the House of a Pharisee — Mary- 
Magdalene and Her Box of Ointment — Cure 
of the Man Sick of the Palsy— A Cluster of 
Parables — What the Kingdom of Heaven is 
Like — Story of the Prodigal — Publicans and 
Sinners — A Woman Healed — The Daughter 
of Jairus— The Troubled Sea Calmed— The 
Man Possessed of Devils — Followed by a 
Multitude— The Twelve Apostles 381 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Marvellous Works and Words. 

The Man at the Pool of Bethesda— Trouble With 
the Pharisees — Plucking Corn on the Sabbath 
— David Eating the Shew-Bread — Death and 
Burial of John the Baptist — Feeding a Multi- 
tude — Storm on the Sea — Jesus Walking on 
the Water — Rescue of Peter — A Mother's 
Appeal for Her Daughter — The Deaf and 
Dumb Man — A Blind Man Healed — Peter 
Called a Rock — The Mount of Transfigura- 
tion — A Lunatic Cured , 399 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Last Visit of Jesus to Galilee. 

Lesson from a Little Child — The Unjust Steward 
— Money Found in a Strange Place — Feast 
of Tabernacles — Pharisees Angry — The Man 
Blind From His Birth— Ten Lepers Healed— 
Jesus Blessing Little Children — The Good 
Samaritan — Jesus at Jerusalem and Bethany — 
The Raising of Lazarus — Two Blind Men 
Receive Their Sight 411 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Last Days in the Temple. 

Jesus at Bethany — Anointing in the House of 
Martha, Mary and Lazarus — Entry into Jeru- 
salem — Road Strewn With Palm-Branches — 
Children in the Temple— The Man Who Had 
a Vineyard — Disputing With the Pharisees — 
The Tribute-Money— The Fate of Hypocrites — 
The Poor Widow — Vivid Picture of the Sec- 
ond Coming . 433 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Jesus Betrayed and Arrested. 
A Plot to Put Jesus to Death— Feast of the Pass- 



over — Preparations for the Last Supper — Jesus 
Washing the Feet of His Disciples — In the 
Garden of Gethsemane — A Prayer of Agony — 
The Traitor's Kiss — False Witnesses — Jesus 
Before the High-Priest — Denial of Peter- 
Sorrowful End of Judas— Jesus Before Pilate — 
A Furious Mob — The Purple Robe and Crown 
of Thorns 443 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
The Story of the Crucifixion. 

Story of the Crucifixion — Bearing the Cross — A 
Prayer for Enemies — The Earthquake and 
Darkening of the Sun — Veil of the Temple 
Rent — The Burial — The Angel and Women at 
the Tomb — Surprise of the Disciples—Jesus at 
Emmaus — Again in Galilee — The Great 
Draught of Fishes — Solemn Charge to Peter — 
Jesus at Bethany — The Ascension — Awe- 
Struck Disciples Appear in the Temple . . 456 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
The Story of the Apostles. 

Casting Lots for Another Apostle — Choice of 
Matthias — Wonders on the Day of Pentecost — 
The Tongues of Fire — Peter's Remarkable 
Sermon — Thousands of Believers — The Lame 
Man Healed — Two Apostles in Prison — Story 
of Ananias and Sapphira — Prison Doors 
Thrown Open — Choosing Seven Deacons — 
Story of Stephen— The First Martyr — Simon 
the Sorcerer — Philip in Africa — A Man in a 
Chariot — A Queen's Treasurer Baptized . . 47c 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
The Story of Saul. 

The Story of Saul— The Bright Light from 
Heaven — A Persecutor Changed to an Apostle 
— Story of Barnabas — Jews Attempt to Kill 
Saul — Story of Peter and Dorcas — Peter on the 
Housetop — A Remarkable Vision — Simon the 
Tanner and Cornelius — Martyrdom of James — 
Peter's Escape from Prison — Herod's Speech — 
A Beautiful City — A Notorious Wizzard — The 
Apostles Suffer Persecution — Paul Stoned by 
a Mob — Success of the Gospel 484 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
Paul's Second Journey. 

Paul and Barnabas Separate — The Young Man 
Timothy— Paul and Silas at Philippi— The 



CONTENTS, 



IX 



House of Lydia — Casting Out an Evil Spirit- 
Locked Up in the Old Prison — An Earthquake 
— The Jailor's Fright — Leaving Thessalonica 
by Night — At Berea — Arrival at Athens — Paul 
Preaching on Mars' Hill— The City of Corinth 
— Story of Gallio — A New Preacher From 
Egypt — Aquila and Priscilla — Apollos Preach- 
ing in Greece 501 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Paul's Third Journey. 

Journey Through Little Asia — At Ephesus and 
Corinth — Wizzards and Deceivers — Diana's 
Gorgeous Temple — Wild Uproar at Ephesus — 
The Apostle Travels in Greece — Story of Euty- 
chus— A Sad Parting— The Gospel at Tyre- 
Paul at Jerusalem — A Furious Mot) — Paul 



Bound with Chains — Scene before the Council 
— An Infamous Plot — Paul Finds Friends in 
His Danger 514 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Paul at Cjesarea and Rome. 

Paul Sent by Night to Csesarea — The Roman 
Governor Felix — Wicked Drusilla — A New 
Governor — Paul Before King Agrippa — A 
Pointed Sermon — Two Years in Prison — Plot 
to Take the Life of Paul — The Voyage to 
Rome — Furious Storm — The Ship Wrecked — 
Escape of All on Board — A Deadly Viper — 
Astonishment of the Heathen — Miracles of 
Healing — Paul's Arrival at Rome — A Noble 
Martyr — The Apostle John — Wonderful 
Visions 529 



SACRED ALLEGORIES. 



The King's Messengers 
The Old Man's Home 



PAGB 

545 
582 




PAGE 

Frontispiece 

Adam and Eve Driven Out of the Garden of 

Eden 19 

Adam Tilling the Ground 20 

Cain and Abel Making an Offering to the Lord 21 

The Death of Abel 22 

The Peaceable Fruits of tbe Spirit 23 

Brotherly Love 24 

Noah Building the Ark 26 

Return of the Dove to the Ark 28 

Noah and His Family Leaving the Ark ... 29 

Noah's Sacrifice After the: Flood 30 

The Builders of Babel Scattered 31 

Abram Entering the Land of Canaan .... 34 

The Egyptian King Taking the Wife of Abram 35 

Melchizedek Blessing Abram 37 

"As the Stars, so Shall be Thy Posterity " . = 38 
The Destruction of Sodom Foretold to Abra- 
ham 40 

Lot and His Family Fleeing From Sodom . . 41 

Departure of Hagar and Ishmael 42 

Abraham Offering Isaac 44 

Abraham's Servant Meeting Rebekah . ... 46 

Isaac Welcoming Rebekah * . 47 

Isaac Blessing Jacob . . . . „ 51 

Jacob's Vision of Angels 52 

Jacob Meeting Rebekah . 54 

Laban Hiring Jacob 55 

Jacob Wrestling With the Angel 56 

Meeting of Jacob and Esau 57 

Joseph's Dream of the Sun, Moon and Eleven 

Stars 60 

The Shepherd and His Flock 61 

Joseph Sold by His Brethren 62 

Joseph Interpreting Pharoah's Dreams ... 66 

Joseph Proclaimed Ruler of Egypt 68 

The Cup Found in Benjamin's Sack .... 75 

Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethren 77 

The Sons of Jacob Burying Their Father . . 81 

Embalming the Body of Joseph ...... 83 

Pharaoh's Daughter Finding Moses .... 86 

Moses Brought Before Pharaoh's Daughter . . 87 

The Israelites Made to Work Hard in Egypt . 88 

Moses Slaying the Egyptian 89 

x 



PAGE 

Moses at the Burning Bush ..'..*. 90 

Aaron's Rod Changed to a Serpent . .... 92 

The Feast of the Passover ........ 96 

Departure of the Israelites From Egypt ... 97 
Pharaoh's Host Destroyed in the Red Sea . . 99 
Moses Bringing Water From the Rock . . . 104 
Aaron and Hur Holding Up the Hands of Moses 105 
Moses Receiving the Tables of the Law . . . 107 
The Setting Up of the Tabernacle in the Wil- 
derness 109 

Outside View of the Tabernacle no 

The Ark of the Covenant in 

Furniture of the Tabernacle 112 

The Laver 113 

Sending the Scapegoat Into the Wilderness . 1 14 
The High Priest Offering Incense on the 

Golden Altar . . . . 115 

The Way to the Promised Land . . . . . . 117 

The Fountain in the Wilderness . . . . . 118 

The Israelites Worshipping the Golden Calf . 120 

Moses Destroying the Tables of the Law . . . 121 

Moses Bringing the New Tables of the Law . 122 

The Spies Returning From Canaan .... 124 

The High Priest in Full Dress 126 

The Brazen Serpent 128 

Balaam Met by the Angel of the Lord . . . 129 

Balaam's Sacrifice on Seven Altars 130 

Moses Rehearsing the Commandments to the 

Children of Israel 132 

The Lord Appearing to Moses and Joshua in 

the Pillar of a Cloud 133 

Moses Giving His Charge to Joshua .... 137 

Rahab and the Spies . 138 

The Hebrews Crossing the Jordan ..... 139 

The Angel Appearing to Joshua . ..... 141 

Falling of the Walls of Jericho 142 

Joshua Capturing the City of Ai 143 

The Inhabitants of Ai Witnessing the Defeat 

of Their Army 145 

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still . 147 

Joshua Dividing the Land 149 

Gideon's Offering Burnt by Fire from the Rock 156 

Gideon's Victory Over the Midianites . = . 159 

A Woman Casts a Stone Upon Abimelech . . 162 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



& 



Abimelech Slain by His Armor-Bearer . . 164 

Jephthah Meeting His Daughter ..... .67 

Samson Slaying the Lion „ . 169 

Samson Caught and Bound by His Foes . „ . 172 

Ruth and Naomi . . 175 

Ruth Gleaning in the Fields of Boaz , . . 177 

The Lord of Hosts 179 

The Harvest Time 180 

The Young Samuel Brought to Eli .... 182 

Hannah Visiting Samuel 184 

The Call of Samuel 186 

The Destruction of the Hagarites ...... 194 

Saul Tearing the Robe of Samuel 196 

David Playing the Harp Before Saul .... 197 

Saul and His Men Searching for David . . . 198 

Saul and the Witch of Endor . . * . . . . 200 

Saul Kills Himself by Falling on His Sword . 201 

Samuel Anointing David at Bethlehem . . . 204 

David Slaying Goliath 206 

Saul Casting the Javelin at David 208 

The Covenant Between David and Jonathan . 211 

David Spares the Sleeping Saul 214 

Abagail's Present to David 217 

Peace and Joy 219 

The Name of the Lord 220 

David Anointed King Over Israel 222 

David Bringing the Ark to Jerusalem With 

Great Rejoicing 224 

David Mourning the Death of His Child . . 226 

David Pardoning Absalom ....... 228 

Shimei Casting Stones at David 230 

David Instructing Joab to Number the People 234 

An Angel Goes Forth to Smite the Land . . 235 

David Builds a New Altar 236 

Solomon is Crowned King 240 

The Judgment of Solomon 244 

Husbandmen of Ancient Palestine Going Forth 

to Work 245 

The Ark Brought Into the Temple by Solomon 247 

Solomon Dedicating the Temple 248 

The Ark and Furniture of the Temple . . . 250 

The Queen of Sheba Visiting Solomon . . „ 251 

Kings Bringing Gifts to Solomon 253 

Solomon's Picture of the Fool and the Wise 

Man 254 

The Virtuous Woman 255 

Elijah Fed by Ravens 258 

Elijah Raising the Widow's Son 260 

Elijah Slaying the Prophets of Baal .... 262 

Elijah at the Mouth of the Cave 263 

The Death of King Ahab 265 

The Body of Jezebel Eaten by Dogs .... 267 

Elijah Taken Up into Heaven 269 

Thanksgiving unto the Lord 271 

The Path of Wisdom 272 



Elisha Causing Iron to Swim ...... 27** 

Naaman at the Door of Elisha .<,..., 279 

The Stoning of Zechariah 281 

Defeat of the Syrians by the Israelites . . 283 

Cleansed from Unrighteousness 285 

The Sun and Shield . 286 

Jonah Sheltered by the Vine 289 

The Molten Sea 29c 

Hezekiah Cleansing the Temple 291 

The Lips of Isaiah Touched with a Coal from 

the Altar . . 293 

The Vision of Isaiah 296 

The Jews Led into Captivity ....... 299 

Daniel Refusing to Worship the Image . . . 302 

Daniel Interpreting the King's Dream . . . 304 

Daniel Touched by the Angel 306 

Thorns in the Field of the Slothful .... 309 

Summer and Winter Shall Not Cease .... 310 

The Return of the Jews from Captivity . . . 312 

Building a New Temple 314 

Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem .... 318 

Nehemiah and His Workmen 320 

Two Pages of an Ancient Scroll of Scriptures . 322 

Queen Esther Crowned . . * 324 

The Treasures of Winter 329 

"Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace " . . 33c 

The Messengers Telling Job of His Losses . . 332 

Job and His Three Friends 334 

Job Visited by His Relatives „ 335 

Christmas Carols 337 

The Joys that are Unseen 338 

The Angel Appearing to Mary 341 

Zacharias Writing a Name for the Child . . . 343 

Simeon Taking the Child in His Arms . . . 347 

Wise Men of the East Presenting Their Gifts . 349 
Killing the Male Children Under Two Years 

Old 350 

Jesus Working at the Trade of a Carpenter . . 353 

The Sure and Steadfast Anchor 355 

Beautiful Garments 356 

The Temptation on the Mountain 359 

The Water Turned into Wine at Cana of Gali- 
lee 361 

The Money-Changers Driven From the Temple 363 

Christ Talking to Nicodemus ...... 365 

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria . . . . . 368 

"Follow Me and I Will Make You Fishers of 

Men" 374 

Fall of the House Built on the Sand .... 378 
Mary Anointing the Feet of Christ in the House 

of Simon the Pharisee 3S2 

The Enemy Sowing Tares by Night .... 385 

Finding the Hidden Treasure 386 

The Return of the Prodigal Son 388 

The Beggar Lazarus at the Rich Man's Gate . 389 



Xll 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Christ Raising the Daughter of Jairus . . . 393 

Good Trees Bring Forth Good Fruit .... 397 

Joy After a Night of Weeping 398 

The Burial of John the Baptist 402 

Christ Feeding the Multitude 404 

The Transfiguration 409 

Jesus Teaching Humility by a Little Child . 412 

"Whereas I Was Blind, Now I See" .... 415 

Jesus Blessing Little Children 419 

Robbers Lying in Wait 421 

The Priest and Levite Passing by the Wounded 

Man 422 

The Good Samaritan 423 

The Good Shepherd Dividing the Sheep from 

the Goats 425 

The Raising of Lazarus 428 

11 Suffer Them to Come unto Me " 431 

The Bread That Cometh Down from Heaven . 432 

Mary of Bethany Anointing the Feet of Jesus 434 

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem 436 

The Children in the Temple 438 

Jesus Washing the Feet of His Disciples . . 445 

Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane .... 447 

Judas Betraying Jesus With a Kiss 449 

Peter Denying Christ 452 

They Cried, " Crucify Him ! Crucify Him ! " . 454? 
Christ Sinking under His Cross on the Way to 

Golgotha 457 

Simon Compelled to Help Jesus Bear the Cross 458 

The Crucifixion of Christ 459 

The Burial of Christ 461 

The Angel and Women at the Empty Tomb . 463 

Jesus Convincing Thomas of His Resurrection 466 

The Ascension of Christ . .- 468 

Tongues of Fire Resting on the Disciples . . 472 
Peter Healing the Lame Man at the Gate of the 

Temple 474 

Stephen Stoned to Death by His Enemies . . 480 

The Sanhedrim in Session 483 

Saul Struck to the Earth on His Way to 

Damascus 485 

Peter's Vision on the Housetop 491 

Peter Delivered from Prison by an Angel . . 493 

Antioch 500 



PAGB 

Ancient Ships 507 

Paul Preaching on Mars' Hill 509 

Hall of Pillars— Ruins of Karnak, Egypt . .512 
Demetrius Raising an Uproar at Ephesus 

Against Paul _ 518 

Paul Bound With Chains 523 

Paul Conveyed into the Castle . . . „ . . 525 

The Solitary Places Made Glad 527 

The Glory of the New Jerusalem 528 

The Strong Supporting the Weak 532 

The First Christians at Rome Reading Paul's 

Letter 534 

The Shipwreck of St. Paul 540 

St. Paul's Arrival at Rome in Chains .... 542 

A Bulky Pile, and yet of What Avail? 

One Book of Greater Worth Brings Down the 

Scale . . ■ 547 

Loudly the Lean and Hungry Poor Complain, 
Yet to the Miser they Appeal in Vain . . . 551 
Faith, Hope and Charity, of Heavenly Birth, 
Bestow the Richest Blessings Known to Earth 559 
Not for a Crown will this Poor Wordling Pause, 
B'ut Wastes His Life in Gathering Sticks and 

Straws 563 

Pride Decks Itself, but Soon the Charms are Past, 
And to a Skeleton it Comes at Last .... 567 
One Bears the Cross, the Other Lays it Down — 
Which of the Twain will Win the Golden 

Crown? 571 

Who Carry Luggage will be Sure to Find 

That in the Race They're Sadly Left Behind . 575 

Fall Back, Thou Mighty Foe, and Bite the 

Dust, 
Slain by the Spirit's Sharp and Deadly Thrust 579 
Vain Efforts Theirs Who Try to Overtake 
The Bubbles Which, if Caught, Would Break . 583 
Presumption Often Ventures Quite too Near, 
Where Danger Should Awaken Wholesome Fear 586 
Base Error Shrinks and Trembles with Affright, 
When Truth Descends, Arrayed in Heavenly 

Light 590 

Vain Task to Merely Clip the Outer Shoots ; 
Let the Huge Trunk be Severed from the Roots 595 
The Slave of Habit Breaks His Galling Chains, 
And Through All-Conquering Grace His Free- 
dom Gains 601 

Fresh Flowers Bloom and Limpid Fountains Play 

To Cheer the Travellers on Their Upward Way 605 



Full Page Phototype Engravings. 



Abraham's Servant Meeting Rebekah at the Well. 

Abraham Offering Isaac. 

Joseph Proclaimed Ruler of Egypt. 

Joseph Making Himself Known to His Brethren. 

The Finding of Moses by Pharoah's Daughter. 

The Israelites at Mount Sinai. 

Jewish Maidens Mourning with Jephthah's Daughter. 

Elijah Fed by Ravens at the Brook Cherith. 



Elisha Witnessing the Translation of Elijah. 
The Messengers Telling Job of His Losses. 
The Angels Appearing to the Shepherds. 
The Wise Men Presenting Their Gifts. 
From Earth to Heaven. 
The Good Shepherd. 
Christ Raising Lazarus From the Tomb. 
The Angel and Women at the Sepulchre. 



CHARMING BIBLE STORIES 



CHAPTER L 

B. C. 4004. 



The Story of the Creation — What was made on each day* —Adam and Eve in the 
Garden of Eden — The Serpent beguiles Eve — Cherubim and a Flaming Sword- 
Cain KILLS HIS BROTHER AbEL A MARK SET UPON CAIN. 




LONG time ago 
^ there was no liv- 
ing thing on the 
earth. No grass, 
flowers, shrubs 
nor trees grew 
as they do now, 
and there were 
no insects, fishes, 
birds or beasts 
of any kind. 
There were no 
men, women or 



no houses, villages or cities 



There was darkness 



children, and 

such as we see now 

everywhere. 

Then God said, Let there be light, and 
there was light. He saw that the light was 
good, and he divided the light from the 
darkness. The light he called Day, and the 
darkness he called Night. And the evening 
and the morning were the first day. 

On the second day God made' the firma- 
ment, or the sky, and called it Heaven. 
Under this sky there was only water, cover- 
ing all the earth ; there were no fields, valleys 
or mountains, nothing but a great ocean. 



On the third day God said, Let the waters 
under the heaven be gathered together unto 
one place, and let the dry land appear : and 
it was so. God called the dry land Earth, 
and the gathering together of the waters he 
called Seas. Then he made grass, herbs 
and trees to grow out of the land. The 
earth was now becoming very beautiful, and 
was fast getting ready for the living creatures 
that were* to dwell in it. Grass, trees and 
flowers covered all the dry land, and the 
herb, bearing seed, and fruit-trees with fruit 
upon them had begun to grow. It was a 
strange, silent world yet. No voice of any 
animal was heard in it, no singing of birds 
or humming of insects, no sound of any 
living thing, only the waving and rustling of 
the beautiful trees, and the noise of streams, 
waterfalls, and the waves breaking on the 
shore. 

On the fourth day God made two great 
lights ; the greater light to rule the day, and 
the lesser light to rule the night : he made 
the stars also. God set them in the firma- 
ment of the heaven to give light upon the 
earth, and to rule over the day and over the 
night, and to divide the light from the 
darkness So now there were the sun by 
day and the moon and the stars by night 

17 



18 



THE STORY OF THE CREATION, 



shining down cut of the sky upon this 
beautiful, green, silent world. 

On the fifth day God made fishes and all 
creatures that live in the water ; and he 
made birds to fly in the air ; so that the 
earth was no longer without living things in 
it. When he had made them, he blessed 
them, so that there should be a great many 
of them, and that all the sea should be filled 
with living things, as it is to-day, and that 
there should be birds flying everywhere over 
the earth. 

On the sixth day God made all sorts of 
beasts and cattle, great and small, and insects, 
and everything that lives on the land, except 
birds, which had been made on the fifth day. 

Man and Woman Made. 

Afterwards, on this sixth day, when all 
these living things had been made on the 
earth, when birds were flying in the air and 
fishes were swimming in the sea, when green 
grass and herbs were growing, and flowers 
were blooming, and fruit-trees were laden 
with their fruit, and all things were ready 
for people to live and be happy here, then 
God made the first man and the first woman 
on the earth. 

God made man in his own image, after 
his own likeness. He formed him of the 
dust of the ground, and breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life; and man became 
a living soul. God put the man that he had 
made into a garden where there grew every 
tree that is pleasant to the eye and good for 
food. And he called the man Adam. 

Then God said, It is not good that the 
man should be alone ; I will make a help- 
meet for him. So all the birds and beasts 
and living things that had been made were 
brought to Adam that he might give them 
names ; but among them all there was no 
one that could be a companion to him — - 



nothing that could speak to him, or help 
him in anything he wanted to do. 

Then the Lord God caused a deep sleep 
to fall upon Adam, and he slept : and he 
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh 
instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord 
God had taken from man, made he a woman, 
and brought her unto the man. And Adam 
said, This is now bone of my bones, and 
flesh of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, 
because she was taken out of Man. Then 
God blessed them, and told them that they 
and their children were to fill the earth with 
people, and that they were the masters and 
owners of everything on the earth. 

All the other things that God had made 
he gave to the man and woman to be theirs. 
He said to them, Have dominion over the 
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, 
and over every living thing that moveth upon 
the earth. God gave them the herb bearing 
seed and every kind of fruit for their food. 
To the animals he gave the grass and green 
herbs for their food. 

God saw everything that he had made, 
and, behold, it was very good. Thus the 
heavens and the earth were finished. When 
the seventh day came, God made no more 
new things. He rested from his work ; and 
he blessed the seventh day, and called it holy. 

The Garden of Eden. 

To Adam and his wife was given ail this 
beautiful new world where everything was 
very good. They lived in a garden called 
Eden, which was the most beautiful part of 
it all. In this garden God had made to 
grow every tree that is pleasant to the eye 
and good for food ; and there was a rivei 
flowing through it to give them water. 
Adam was put into this garden to dress it 
and to keep it ; and he had his wife to help 
him. There they were <:lad and hapoy all 



THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 



19 



die time, for they were good, and did not 
know anything about being evil. 

God gave them one command. He told 
them there was one tree in the garden that 
they must never eat the fruit of. Every 
other tree they might eat the fruit of when- 
ever they chose ; but if they ate of that 
tree, they should surely die. This tree was 



spoke to the woman. He looked like a 
serpent, and said to the woman, Has God 
indeed said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in 
the garden ? The woman answered and said. 
We may eat of the trees of the garden ; but 
of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of 
the garden God has said, Ye shall not eat of 
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 




ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN 



in the midst of the garden, and it was called 
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 
That meant that if Adam and his wife ate the 
fruit of it they would then not only know 
how to do evil things, but they would often 
wish to do them. 

Now Adam and his wife had an enemy. 
Satan hated them. One d:.y he came and 



Then the serpent said, Ye shall not surely 
die. He told the woman that the fruit o\ 
that tree would make them wise, and that 
God did not want them to be wise. The 
woman was persuaded. She took some of 
the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil, and ate it ; and then she gave some 
to Adam, and he also ate it. 



20 



THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 



When they had eaten it they were no 
longer good and pure ; they had disobeyed 
God, and knew now all about sin and wicked- 
ness. They did not want to meet God now ; 
they were afraid. When they heard his 
voice in the garden they tried to hide them- 
selves. But they could not hide from God. 
God called to Adam, and said to him, 
Where art thou ? And Adam said, I heard 



What is this that thou hast done? The 
woman said, The serpent deceived me, and 
I did eat. 

God then spoke to the serpent, and said 
that he was cursed for what he had done ; 
that he should creep along the ground in 
the dust always ; and that there should be 
hatred between Satan and the people in the 
world. Satan should always hate them and 




ADAM TILLING THE GROUND. 



thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, 
because I was naked ; and I hid myself. 

Then God said, Who told thee that thou 
wast naked ? Hast thou eaten of the tree, 
of which I commanded thee that thou 
shouldst not eat ? The man answered and 
said, The woman whom thou gavest to be 
vvith me, she gave me of the tree, and I did 
eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, 



try to do them harm ; but that some day 
One should come into the world to over- 
come Satan. Then God said to the woman, 
that she must in future have a great deal of 
sorrow and pain. Her sin would be pun- 
ished, and her life would be made unhappy 
because she did not obey God. 

And unto Adam he said, Because thou 
hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 



THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 



21 



and hast eaten of the tree, of which I com- 
manded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of 
it : cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in 
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of 
thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it 
bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the 
herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face 
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto 
the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : 
for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
return. Death had now come into the w r orld. 



him forth from the garden of Eden to till 
the ground from whence he was taken. So 
he drove out the man ; and he placed at the 
east of the garden of Eden, Cherubim and ? 
flaming sword which turned every way, to 
keep the way of the tree of life. 

The Two Brothers. 

After they left the garden, Adam and Eve 
had two sons : the eldest was called Cain 
and was a tiller of the ground ; but the 




CAIN AND ABEL MAKING AN OFFERING TO THE LORD. 



And Adam called his wife's name Eve; 
because she was the mother of all living. 
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the 
Lord God make coats of skin, and clothed 
them. 

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man 
is become as one of us, to know good and 
evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand, 
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and 
live forever : therefore the Lord God sent 



younger was called Abel, and was a keep^*' 
of sheep. Now both brothers made offerings 
to the Lord : Cain offered of the fruits of the 
field and Abel of the firstlings of his flock. 
And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to 
his offering. But unto Cain and his offering, 
he had not respect. At this Cain became 
very wroth, and his countenance fell. And 
the Lord said, Why art thou wroth, and 
why is thy countenance fallen? 'If tboit 



22 



THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 



doest well shalt thou not also receive a 
reward ? 

But if thou doest not well, sin lieth at 
the door. 

And Cain talked with Abel, his brother • 
and it came to pass when they were in the 
field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his 
brother, and slew him. And the Lord said 
unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? 
And he said, I know not, am I my brother's 
keeper? And he said, What hast thou 
done; the voice of thy brother's blood 




THE DEATH OF ABEL. 

crieth unto me from the ground ? Cursed 
art thou from the earth which hath opened 
her mouth to receive thy brother's blood 
from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, 
it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its 
fruit. A fugitive and vagabond shalt thou 
be upon the earth. And Cain said unto the 
Lord, My punishment is greater than I can 
bear. Behold thou hast driven me out this 
day from the face of the earth, and from thy 
face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive 
and a vagabond upon the earth ; and it shall 



come to pass that every one that findeth me 
shall slay me. 

And the Lord said unto him, No, it shall 
not be so. And the Lord set a mark upon 
Cain, lest any finding him, should kill him. 
So Cain went out from the presence of the 
Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod on the 
east of Eden. And Cain became the father 
of a numerous family who, like him, did not 
fear the Lord ; and he builded a city, and 
called it after the name of his eldest son, 
Enoch. This was the first city ever built. 

And God gave to the first 
parents another son, and Eve 
called his name Seth, for 
God, said she, hath appointed 
me another son, instead of 
Abel whom Cain slew. And 
to Seth also was there born 
a son, and he called his name 
Enos. Then began men to 
call upon the name of the 
Lord. 

And God gave Adam many 
sons and daughters, and all the 
days that Adam lived were nine 
hundred and thirty years. One 
of his descendants was Enoch 
who lived sixty and five years, 
when Methuselah was born to 
him. And all the days of Enoch 
were three hundred and sixty and five years. 
And Enoch walked with God, and he was 
not, for God took him. And all the days 
of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and 
nine years when he died. His son Lamech 
lived seven hundred and seven years, and he 
called his son Noah, saying, The same shall 
comfort us concerning our work and toil of 
our hands, because of the ground which the 
Lord hath cursed. And the sons of Noah 
were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Men now be- 
gan to multiply fast upon the face of the earth. 




THE PEACEABLE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 



25 




BROTHERLY LOVE. 



24 



CHARTER II. 



B. C. 2347. 

Ike Story of the Flood — The World Grown very Wicked — Noah Commanded it 
Build an Ark for the Saving of his Family — Every Living Thing on the T>rm 
Land Destroyed — Noah Leaves the Ark and Offers Sacrifice — The Towee 
of Babel — Confusion of Tongues and Scattering of the People. 




GREAT many 
years passed 
away, and by 
this time there 
was a multi- 
tude of people 
in the world. 
They had be- 
come very 
wicked, and 
were all the 
time growing 
more so. And 
God looked 
upon the earth, and he saw that the wicked- 
ness of man was very great, and that the 
thoughts of his heart were only evil. He 
was sorry that he had made man on the 
earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And 
the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I 
have created from the face of the earth ; 
both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, 
and the fowls of the air ; for I am sorry that 
I made them. 

There was only one man amongst them 
all at this time who pleased God, and his 
name was Noah. He found grace, or favor, 
in the eyes of the Lord ; for he was a good 
man, and would have nothing to do with 
the sinful deeds of all the people who were 
living in those days. He walked with God, 



and he had brought up his children wisely 
and well. 

So God spoke to Noah, and told him 
what he was going to do. He said, Behold } 
I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon 
the earth, to destroy by drowning everything 
that breathes ; and everything that is on the 
earth shall die. But I will take care of you, 
and your wife, and your sons, and your 
sons' wives. 

Noah Builds the Ark. 

Then he told Noah to make a very large 
Duat, or ship, called an " ark," which should 
float upon the water when God should send 
down his great rain upon the earth. And 
into this ark bf wood Noah and his family 
were to go, with two of every sort of living 
creature — fowls, and cattle, and creeping 
things — that they might be kept alive. And 
abundance of food was to be put into the 
ark for them all. Noah believed everything 
that God had said to him, and he began at 
once to make the ark, as he had been told. 
He and his sons cut down a great many 
large trees, and then he got carpenters to 
help him to saw them into planks or boards^ 
and to fasten them together. 

And all the time the ark was being made 
(for it took a great many years to build) 
Noah preached to the people, and warned 
them. He told them that God was going 

25 



26 



THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 



to drown the world for their wickedness ; 
but they did not believe what he said. 
They went on eating and drinking and 
pleasing themselves, and doing everything 
just as usual. Noah told them that they 
were in danger, but they only laughed at 
li.m. And so year after year passed away. 



nnd curiously-built house in the open fieldSo 
There was no sign of any flood yet ; the sun 
rose every morning and set every evening, 
and the people went on just in their old 
ways, not believing that any change was 
coming. Then the Lord said to Noah, 
Come into the ark, you and all your family ; 




NOAH BUILDING THE ARK. 



'Noah still worked hard at the ark, which 
was to save him and his family from the 
great flood of waters, and he still went on 
preaching and warning his neighbors. 

At last the great ark, which had taken a 
hundred and twenty years to make, was 
•quite finished, and was looking like a huge 



for you have walked uprightly before me in 
the midst of a wicked people. And take 
with you two and two of every beast, and 
bird, and creeping thing. For in seven days 
I will cause it to rain upon the earth ; the 
rain shall last for forty days and forty nights ; 
and every living thing that I have made 



THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 



27 



1 will destroy from off the face of the 
earth. 

Noah went into the ark with his sons, and 
his wife, and his sons' wives. And God 
made to follow him into that place of safety 
two and two of every sort of living creature 
that was upon the earth. After that, God 
liimself shut the door. God still waited 
seven days, as he had said, to give them 
time to repent ; for he is slow to anger, and 
he does not like to be obliged to punish. 
But they took no heed ; these last seven 
days were spent just like all the rest, and at 
last came the time for the flood. 

A Forty Days' Rain. 

Then the rain came down — such rain as 
has never been seen upon the earth, either 
before or since. It poured down night and 
day, for forty days, and the fountains of the 
great deep were broken up, and the rivers 
and streams overflowed their banks. God, 
who had said to the sea, So far shalt thou 
go, and no further, and here shall thy proud 
waves be stayed, now commanded the sea to 
spread over the earth again, to help in the 
work of destruction. The water came rush- 
ing into the houses, and the frightened people 
fled to the upper rooms. But there was no 
escape; the waters mounted higher and 
higher, and the upper rooms w r ere soon 
reached and flooded, and all who were in 
them were drowned. Some climbed up into 
high trees ; but before long the top branches 
were reached, and those who were clinging 
there, drenched with rain and sick with fear, 
were swept away into the flood. Some, no 
doubt, tried to escape in boats ; but that 
tremendous rain and the rushing flood quickly 
overturned them, and the despairing people 
-sank in the deep water. 

And so the flood prevailed exceedingly 
■upon the earth, till at last all the hijjh hills 



I were completely covered. And all flesh 

! died that moved upon the earth, both of 

| fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every 

creeping thing ; and every man, and every 

woman, and every child. All, all were 

drowned. 

Eight Persons Saved. 

But where was Noah ? Safe in the ark. 
As the flood rose, so the ark rose too, float- 
ing securely upon that great mass of waters^ 
Just eight persons were saved, and no more ; 
there were only eight among all the people 
on the earth who believed that God would 
do as he had said. 

And God remembered Noah, and every 
living thing, and all the cattle that were with 
him in the ark ; and God made the rain to 
cease, and he caused a wind to pass over the 
earth, to help to dry up the waters. Every 
day the water became less and less ; but it 
was a long time yet before the earth was 
dry. When half a year had passed away, 
the ark rested on the top of a high mountain 
called Ararat ; and little by little the waters 
sank lower and lower, till at last all the tops 
of the mountains were seen. 

Noah wanted very much to know if the 
earth was getting dry again ; for though 
there was a window in the ark, it was so 
placed that he could not see anything out of 
it except the sky. He could open it, how- 
ever ; and so one day he took a raven and 
let it out through the window. But the 
raven did not come back ; it flew backwards 
and forwards over the water, and rested on 
the top of the ark, but it would not go into 
it again. Then Noah sent out a dove, 
which is a very gentle bird — very different 
to the wild and fierce raven. But the dove 
found no tree upon which she could perch, 
and no place where she could rest, so she 
flew back to the ark. And Noah was 



28 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 

watching for her, and when he saw her come 1 come back quite so soon this fe She 
back, he put out his hand and took her | remained away till the evening; and when 




gently in through the window. After this 
Noah waited one week, and then he sent out 
the dove again. The gentle bird did not 



RETURN OF THE DOVE TO THE ARK. 

she returned to the ark, what do you think 
she had in her beak ? An olive leaf that 
she had plucked off a tree. Noah was 



THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 



29 



pleased to see it, for he knew by this that 
the flood of waters had almost gone Yet 
again Noah waited a week ; and once more 
he sent out his little dove. But she never 
came back again. 

Then Noah took off the covering of the 
tfk and looked out ; and, behold, the ground 
was dry. How he must have longed to go 
out, and to walk about again on the fresh 
and beautiful earth. But much as he longed 
to do so, he did not attempt to leave the ark 
till God should tell him he might. God 
himself had shut the door, and 
Noah would not open it without 
his leave. So he waited pa- 
tiently there eight weeks longer, 
till at last the joyful order came. 
God said to Noah, Go out of 
the ark, you and your wife, and 
your sons, and your sons' wives 
with you. And bring out with 
you every living thing that is 
with you in the ark — birds, and 
cattle, and every creeping thing. 

How glad they must all have 
been to tread on the soft green 
grass again, after having been 
shut up in the ark for a whole 
year. It was like a new world 
now. But what a solemn 
thought it was, that since Noah 
had last put his foot upon the ground, every 
soul except himself and his family had been 
drowned in that flood of waters. All his 
acquaintances and his neighbors were dead. 
As Noah thought of all this he felt thankful 
to God for his great deliverance. He builded 
an altar — that is, he made a heap of stones — 
and upon this heap, or altar, he offered a 
sacrifice to the Lord. 

And God was pleased ; and he blessed 
Noah and his sons, as he had blessed Adam 
and Eve in the beginning. And he told 



Noah that he should be master over all the 
beasts, and over every living. thing upon the 
earth. Also, he now gave him permission 
for the first time to eat flesh. He said, 
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat 
for you ; even as the green herb have I 
given you all things. 

Afterwards God made a very gracious 
promise to Noah and to his sons. He said 
to them, I will never again destroy the earth 
by a flood of waters ; but as long as the 
world lasts, seed-time and harvest, and cold 




NOAH AND HIS FAMILY LEAVING THE ARK. 

and heat, and summer and winter, and day 
and night, shall not cease. And I will give 
you a sign that I will remember my promise. 
I do put my bow in the cloud, and when I 
bring a cloud over the earth, the bow shall 
be seen in the cloud. And you shall look 
at it, and I will look at it and remember the 
promise I have made you. 

In those days people lived a great deal 
longer than they do now. Noah was six 
hundred years old at the time of the flood, 
and he was nine hundred and fifty when he 



30 



THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 



died. The sons of Noah who went forth out 
of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. 

When Noah and his three sons, with their 
wives, had come out of the ark, they had 
again to begin and dig the ground, and to 
take care of the sheep and cattle, as they had 
done before. The ground that had been 



three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and 
told to them what should happen to their 
children's children in the far-off time in the 
future. He blessed Shem, and he blessed 
Japheth, and he told them that they should 
both be prosperous and great nations ; but 
he cursed Ham for his sin, and said that his 




NOAH S SACRIFICE 

cursed because of Adam's sin still brought 
forth briers and thistles ; and though the 
earth was once again so fresh and beautiful, 
Noah and his sons had to work hard for 
their daily food. Noah was a husbandman 
or farmer. He dug the ground, and sowed 
corn, and gathered in the grain at the time 
of harvest. One day Noah spoke to his 



AFTER THE FLOOD. 

family should not be great, but should be 
mean and despised, and that he should be 
"a servant of servants." 

At first the children of Ham, like the 
children of wicked Cain, seemed to prosper. 
One of his family was called Nimrod, and he 
became a very great man. He was a great 
hunter and a great builder, and he made 



THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 



?1 



himself a kind of king. He built a great 
many cities, and he ruled over them. Then 
there was Canaan, another of Ham's family. 
He had a number of children, and they were 
very rich, and their country was very 
pleasantly situated ; but yet, like all the 
descendants of Ham, they were wicked. 
God's curse was upon them, and they did 
not prosper in the end. 

The country where Canaan had settled 
down was called after his name — the land 
of Canaan ; and by-and-by you will hear 
how God took away that beau- 
tiful land from the wicked 
children of Ham, and gave 
it to some of the family of 
Shem. 

A High Tower. 

The world soon began to be 
filled with people again after 
the flood, and everybody spoke 
the same language. Now, as 
you know, a great many diff- 
erent languages are spoken, 
and the people of one country 
cannot understand the people 
of another country, unless they 
have first, with much trouble 
and difficulty, learned to speak 
in the same language. But 
at the time of which I am telling you all 
spoke alike. As men began to increase 
in number, so they began to get careless 
and wicked again. They seemed quickly 
to forget God, and only cared to follow 
their own sinful inclinations. 

At first the people stayed near where the 
ark had rested, but as their families grew up, 
and more and more children were born, some 
of them began to journey further on till they 
came to a plain, or flat country, called the 
land of Shinar ; and there they lived. After 



a time they said to one another, Let us build 
a city, and a tower whose top may reach 
unto heaven ; and let us make a name for 
ourselves, so that we may not be scattered 
abroad, or separated from each other. This 
they agreed to do. But there was no stone 
in that part of the country, so they were 
obliged to make bricks for building the city 
and the tower. 

When they said that they would build a 
high tower which should reach to heaven, 
they did not mean that it was possible it 




THE BUILDERS OF BABEL SCATTERED. 



should reach to the place that we mean by 
heaven — where God lives ; they only intended 
it to be so very high that it would look as if 
it reached to the skies. Perhaps they thought, 
too, that this tower w r ould be a place of 
safety for them if another flood were to come 
upon the earth. 

The plain cf Shinar was a very busy place 
now. The people worked hard at their 
brick-making, and at their building ; and all 
the time they were thinking what a grand 
place of safety it would be. And all the 



32 



THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 



time God was watching them ; and at 
last he came down to see the city and 
the tower which the children of men 
were building. God not only looked at 
the city and the tower, but he looked 
into the people's hearts, and he saw how 
much sin and pride and disobedience there 
was there. So he would not let them 
finish their work. 

The Lord said, Behold, the people is one, 
and they have all one language ; and now 
that they have begun to do this, they will 
stop at nothing, but will do whatever they 
have set their minds upon. Let us make 
them all speak a different language, that 
they may not understand each other any 
more. 

And God did so. The people were busy 
at work, as usual, one giving orders here, 
another arranging things there- — here some 
were asking what they should do next, and 
there some were explaining how things were 
to be done — when, all at once, they found 
that they could not understand each other. 
They had never heard any language but their 
own before, and now every one was speaking 
what appeared to be nonsense to the others. 
They at once left off building ; for how 
could the workmen understand what the 
master was telling them to do ? And how 
Could the builder explain his orders to the 



masons, when he was speaking in a language 
they had never heard before ? 

There was great confusion in the land of 
Shinar that day, and great astonishment. 
Their plans were all upset, they could not 
make each other understand, and there was 
so much confusion, disorder, and worry, 
that they called the name of the tower Babel, 
which means "confusion." 

And now the people began to separate 
from each other, and to spread themselves 
over the country. They wanted to keep 
together, but God scattered them. When 
their language was confounded, they did not 
wish to remain with those whom they could 
not understand. Some took their families 
and went in one direction, and some went 
in another direction, till they were all 
scattered. And thus it came to pass that 
the city and the high tower, which they 
thought would make them a name and make 
them famous, remained unfinished. 

The people had been living without God, 
and had been working against God ; so he , 
rose up to stop them, and to bring their 
work to nothing. 

Some of the families stayed quite near 
Babel, and others wandered farther off and 
settled by the sea. Afterward some of the 
children of these families wandered into new 
lands and went everywhere. 



CHAPTER III. 



B. C. 1996. 



The Story of Abraham — Destruction of Sodom and Story of Lot — Hagar ano 
Ishmael Sent Away — Abraham Offering up Isaac — Journey of Abraham's Servant 
—Isaac and Rebekah — Isaac Obtains a Wife from a far Country. 

the day of his death. Two hundred and 




N Ur of the Chaldees 
lived a man whose 
name was Terah. 
This Terah had 
three sons, namely, 
Haran, Nahor, and 
Abram. Now Ha- 
ran and Nahor 
worshipped idols, of 
which the moon- 
god was the chief. 
So did also all the 
people of the land ; 
but Abram knew 
the true God, and worshipped him only. 
Haran, son of Terah, had a son, Lot by 
name, and two daughters, Milcah and Iscah 
•or Sarai ; and Milcah became the wife of 
Nahor, and Sarai the wife of Abram. After 
•a while God appeared to Abram, and said 
unto him, Get thee out of *thy country, and 
from thy kindred, and go into the land that 
I shall show thee. Then Terah departed 
from Ur of the Chaldees, taking with him 
Abram, and Sarai his wife, and Lot his 
grandson, and all that he had. Westward 
he travelled till he came to Haran. Because 
the land was rich and fertile, and good for 
the feeding of flocks and herds, and because 
he himself also was now old and feeble, 
Terah would go no farther. So he abode in 
Haran, and Abram and Lot with him, till 



five years old was he when he died. 

When Terah was dead, God spake again 
to Abram, saying, Get thee out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy 
father's house, unto a land that I will show 
thee : and I will make of thee a great nation, 
and I will bless thee, and make thy name 
great ; and in thee shall all the families of 
the earth be blessed. So Abram rose, and 
took with him Lot, his brother's son, and 
their two households, and all their sheep and 
oxen — many thousands in all — and went 
into the land of Canaan. 



Where Abram Pitched his Tent. 

And having come thither he pitched his 



tent for the first time in Sichem, in the oak- 
grove which was called the oak-grove of 
Moreh. While he sojourned at Moreh the 
Lord appeared unto him, and said, This is 
the land which I promised to give to thee, 
and to thy children after thee. Then Abram 
built an altar and offered sacrifices unto the 
Lord. From Moreh he went to Luz — there 
also he built an altar — and from Luz he 
journeyed into the south country. But 
while he dwelt there, there was a grievous 
famine in the land, and he was constrained 
to go down into Egypt. 

Now as Abram came near to the borders 
of Egypt, he began to fear for his life, 
Sarai his wife was a very fair woman, and he 

33 



34 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



thought to himself, The Egyptians will kill 
me that they may take my wife. So he 
said to Sarai, Say, I pray thee, that thou art 
my sister ; so wilt thou save my life. And 
Sarai consented ; for they had agreed be- 
tween them at the first when they set out on 
their wanderings that at every place whither 
they should come she should say of him, 
He is my brother. 

When they came to the borders of Egypt 
the officers that had the charge of these 
matters, sent to tell the king 
that a stranger had come from 
the north country, and that he 
had brought with him an exceed- 
ingly fair woman, who was, he 
said, his sister. So Sarai was 
taken into the house of Pharoah, 
the king of Egypt, that she 
might be added to the number 
of his wives. And Pharaoh 
gave many gifts to Abram — 
men-servants and maid servants, 
and camels and asses, and oxen 
and sheep. 

But the Lord sent sickness 
into Pharaoh's house, and his 
wise men told him that it had 
been sent on account of the 
stranger woman whom he had 
taken into his house. Therefore he sent for 
Abram, and said to him, What is this thou 
hast done? Why didst thou not tell me 
that this woman was thy wife ? Why didst 
thou say that she was thy sister ? I might 
have taken her to be my wife ; take now 
therefore thy wife, and go thy way. 

So Pharaoh sent Abram away. But he 
took not away from him the gifts that he 
had given him. nor aught that he had. 
Also he gave his officers a charge concerning 
him that he should suffer no harm, but 
should depart from the land in safety and 



peace. So Abram went back to the land of 
Canaan — for the famine had ceased — and 
pitched his tent again at Luz. Now the 
land had already many inhabitants. And 
because Abram and Lot had many flocks 
and herds there was not room enough for 
the two. When therefore there arose strife 
between the herdsmen of Abram and the 
herdsmen of Lot, because the pasture was 
not sufficient for both, Abram said to Lot, 
Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between 




ABRAM ENTERING THE LAND OF CANAAN. 



me and thee, for we are brethren. The 
whole land is before thee. Choose uoiat 
thou wilt for thyself. If thou wilt take the 
left hand, then I will go to the right. If 
thou depart to the right hand, then I will 
go to the left. 

Then Lot looked out from Bethel and 
saw the country. When he looked to the 
north and to the south and to the west, all 
seemed barren. But eastward he looked on 
the plain of Jordan, and saw that it was 
green and well watered, even as a garden of 
the Lord. So Lot chose for himself the 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



35 



plain of Jordan. And he separated himself j walls. But the men of Sodom were wicked, 
from Abram, and journeyed to Sodom. | and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. 




THE EGYPTIAN KING TAKING THE WIFE OF ABRAM. 



First he pitched his tent outside the city, but 
afterwards he took up his abode within the 



After Lot had departed, the Lord appeared 
again to Abram, and said, Lift up now thine 



46 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



eyes, and look from the place where thou 
art, northward and southward and westward 
and eastward. For all the land which thou 
seest I will give to thee, and to thy children 
1or ever. And I will make thy posterity as 
the dust of the earth; so that if a man can 
number the dust of the earth, then shall thy 
posterity also be numbered. Arise, walk 
through the land in the length of it and the 
breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. 

A Tent Under a Tree. 

After this Abram removed his tent, and 
travelled So the place that was called Hebron, 
There he pitched his tent under the oak- 
-tree of Mamre. This Mamre was a great 
-chief amor.g the Amorites. 

While he dwelt under the oak tree of 
Mamre, there came war in the east country ; 
.And the cause of the war was this : While 
Abram still dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, the 
iking of Elam, and other kings of the east 
with him, had conquered the five cities of the 
iplain of Jordan, and had laid a tribute upon 
them. But now the five cities rebelled, and 
refused to pay their tribute. Twelve years 
they had served, and in the thirteenth year 
they rebelled, and in the fourteenth year the 
king of Elam came up against them, having 
with him the two kings of Babylonia, and 
the king of the land of Assyria. 

First these four kings smote the tribes that 
dwelt in Haran, and in the land that lies 
between Arnon and the brook Jabbok, and 
in the land of Moab. Also they smote the 
tribes that dwelt in the caves of Mount Hor, 
and the Amalekites and the Amorites that 
dwelt eastward of Jordan, and so came at 
last to the Cities of the Plain. 

Then the kings of the five cities gathered 
together their army and went out to meet 
the armies of the east. In the valley of 
Siddim they met them. The valley was full 



of pits, and the five kings hoped that the 
chariots and horsemen of the eastern army 
would be ensnared amongst them. But the 
battle went against the five kings, and many 
of their people were slain, they that were left 
escaping to the mountains of Moab. Then 
the king of Elam and his allies spoiled the 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, taking away 
all their possessions and all their food, and 
so departed. And they took Lot, that was 
Abram's nephew, and all his goods with them. 

Lot Rescued and Brought Back. 

But one that had escaped from the battle 
fled to Abram, where he dwelt under the 
oak-tree of Mamre, and told him that Lot 
had been carried away captive by the kings 
of the east. And when Abram heard that 
Lot his nephew had been carried away, he 
armed his servants- — men born in his house 
and trained for war. They were three hun- 
dred and eighteen in number. Also he had 
with them certain of the people of Mamre 
and Aner and Eshcol, princes of the Amor- 
ites, for these were confederate with him; 
with these he pursued the invaders, and 
overtook them at Laish (which place was 
afterwards called Dan, and was near to the 
springs of Jordan). Here they were en- 
camped, thinking that none would attack them. 

Then Abram divided the men that were 
with him into two parts, and attacked the 
four kings by night from either side of their 
encampment. So he put them to flight, and 
pursued them to Hobah, which lies between 
Damascus and Tadmor of the wilderness. 
He brought back with him all the goods 
that they had taken from the five cities, and 
Lot and his family, and all the prisoners. 

And as he returned, the king of Sodom 
came out to meet him, and said to him, 
Give me back now the prisoners that thou 
hast taken out of the hand of the king of 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



b? 



Elam, for they are my own people ; but take 
all the goods to thyself. But Abram answered 
him, I have taken an oath, lifting up my 
hand, to the Lord, the most high God, whose 
are the heaven and the earth, that I will not 
take a thread or a shoe-latchet from thee. 
Nothing will I take of thine, lest thou say, 



and offered him first-fruits, even bread and 
wine, and blessed him, saying, Blessed be 
Abram of the most high God, whose are 
heaven and earth ; and blessed be the most 
high God, who hath delivered thine enemies 
into thine hand. Then Abram gave him a 
tenth part of all the spoil that he had taken 




MELCHIZEDEK BLESSING ABRAM. 



I have made Abram rich. Nevertheless, 
that which the young men my servants have 
eaten on the way that thou shalt give them. 
These men, too, that have helped me, Aner, 
Eshcol, and Mamre ; let them take their 
portion. 

There also came to meet him Melchizedek, 
king of Salem, a priest of the most high God, 



And after these things he returned and 
dwelt at Mamre. 

Then God appeared to him in a vision and 
said, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and 
thy exceeding great reward. Abram an- 
swered, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, 
seeing that I am childless ? 

Then the Lord bade him go forth from 



38 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



his tent and look up into the heavens, and 
said, Tell the stars, if thou be able to 
number them. So shall be thy posterity. 
And Abram believed in the Lord, and it was 
counted to him for righteousness. Then the 
Lord said, I have brought thee out of Ur of 
the Chaldees that thou mayest inherit this 
land. Abram said, How shall I know that 
I shall inherit it. The Lord said, Take a 
heifer, and a she-goat, and a ram, and a 
turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. 

So Abram took them and 
divided the beasts into two por- 
tions, and laid the two portions 
over against each other ; but 
the birds he divided not. And 
when the sun went down he fell 
into a deep sleep, and heard a 
voice that said, Thy posterity 
shall dwell in a land that is not 
theirs, and shall be afflicted four 
hundred years ; but the nation 
that shall afflict them I will 
judge. After that they shall go 
■out from among their oppressors 
with great riches, and shall come 
again to this land ; for the 
iniquity of the Amorites is not 
yet full. And when the sun went 
down and it was dark, Abram saw a smoking 
furnace and a burning lamp pass between the 
portions of the sacrifice, being the tokens 
of the presence of the Lord. Then, as 
Abram had passed between the portions, so 
the Lord passed between them, and a 
covenant was made between the Lord and 
Abram ; for the custom was that when two 
thus passed between the portions of a sacrifice 
a covenant was made between them. And 
the Lord said, Unto thy race have I given 
all this land, from the river of Egypt unto 
the great river, the river Euphrates. 

After these things Abram took to wife 



Sarai's maid Hagar, the Egyptian, And 
Sarai dealt so hardly with her that she fled 
from the tent. But as she lay by a well in 
the wilderness the angel of God spake to her, 
saying, Hagar, whence earnest thou ? and 
whither wilt thou go ? She answered, I flee 
from the face of Sarai my mistress. The 
angel said, Go back, and submit thyself to 
thy mistress. Thou shalt bear a son, and 
shalt call his name Ishmael, because the 
Lord hath heard thy affliction. He shall be 




"AS THE STARS, SO SHALL BE THY POSTERITY." 

a wild man ; his hand will be against every 
man, and every man's hand against him. 

And thereafter the well by which Hagar 
sat when the angel spake to her was called 
the well of Seeing and Living. So Hagar 
returned to her mistress ; and she bare a 
son to Abram, who called his name Ishmael 
Abram was fourscore and six years old when 
Hagar bare Ishmael to him. 

When Abram was now ninety and nine 
years old, and Ishmael his son thirteen, the 
Lord appeared again unto him. Then Abram 
fell on his face before God ; and the Lord 
spake to him again, saying, My covenant is 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



39 



with thee, and I will make thee the father of 
many nations. Hereafter thy name shall not 
be any more Abram, but thy name shall be 
Abraham ; because I have made thee a 
father of many nations. And I will give 
thee, and thy children after thee, this land of 
Canaan to be a perpetual possession. 

Also He said to him, As for Sarai thy 
wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but 
Sarah. I will bless her, and give her a son of 
thee. She shall be a mother of nations, and 
kings shall come from her. 

The Three Travellers. 

Not many days after, as Abraham sat in 
his tent-door, where he dwelt under the oak 
of Mamre, he espied three travellers. And 
when he saw them he ran from the tent-door 
to meet them, and bowed himself to the 
ground before them, and said to him that 
seemed chief among them, My lord, if I have 
found favor in thy sight, pass not on at once, 
but turn aside to visit me. Let a little water 
be fetched that ye may wash your feet, and 
rest yourselves under the tree, and I will 
fetch a morsel of bread that ye may refresh 
yourselves. After that ye shall pass on. 
And the man said, So do as thou hast said. 

Then Abraham hastened unto Sarah 
where she sat in the tent, and said, Make 
ready quickly three measures of fine meal, 
and knead it, and bake cakes upon the 
hearth. This done, he ran co the stalls of 
the cattle and took thence a calf, tender and 
good, and gave it to a young man, who 
hasted to cook it. And he took butter and 
milk and the calf that had been cooked, and 
set them before the travellers, and stood by 
them under the tree as they ate. 

After this the men rose up, and departed, 
having their faces turned towards Sodom. 
And Abraham went with them to bring them 
on their way. And the Lord said, Shall I 



hide from Abraham that thing which I do ; 
for he shall become a great nation, and all 
the nations of the earth shall be blessed in 
him ? For I know him, that he will com 
mand his children and his household after 
him, to do judgment and justice. 

A Wicked City, 

Then the Lord said to Abraham, Because 
the report of Sodom and Gomorrah is very 
evil, and their sin very grievous,. I have come 
to see whether they have altogether sinned 
according to the report. 

Then two of the three went on towards 
Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the 
Lord. He bethought him of Lot, his 
brother's son, and of his household, and said 
to the Lord, Wilt thou also destroy the 
righteous with the wicked? Peradventure 
there may be fifty righteous within the city ; 
wilt thou not spare the place for the sake oi 
the fifty righteous ? That be far from thee 
to slay the righteous with the wicked. Shall 
not the Judge of all the earth do right? 
The Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty 
righteous, I will spare all the place for their 
sake. 

Abraham spake again, I have taken upon 
myself to speak to the Lord, though I be but 
dust and ashes. Peradventure there may 
lack five of the fifty : wilt thou destroy all 
the city for the lack of five ? 

The Lord said, If I find forty and five, I 
will not. destroy it. 

Abraham said again, Peradventure forty 
will be found there. 

And the. Lord answered, I will not do it ii 
there be forty there. , 

Then Abraham said, Let not the Lord be 
angry, and I will speak. Peradventure there 
shall be thirty found there. 

The Lord said, I will not do it if I find 
thirty there. 



40 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



Abraham spake again, Peradventure there 
shall be twenty found there. 

The Lord answered, I will spare it for 
twenty's sake. 

Yet once again did Abraham speak. Let 
not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but 
this once only. Peradventure ten shall be 
found there. And the Lord said, I will 



that night, and prepared supper for them, 
and treated them kindly. The angels found 
that all the other men of the city cared for 
nothing but wickedness , and they said to 
Lot, Have you sons or daughters in the city 
besides those in this house ? If you have* 
bring them out of the place, for the wicked- 
ness of it is become great before the Lord; 




THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM FORETOLD TO ABRAHAM. 



spare it for ten's sake. Then Abraham was 
satisfied; he left off praying for Sodom, and 
returned to his home. 

The angels that God had sent to see 
Sodom came into it in the evening. They 
met Lot in the gate of the city. Lot thought 
they were two men who were on a journey. 
He therefore asked them to stay in his house 



and he has sent us to destroy it. All the 
good people in the city could save their 
lives by leaving at once. 

Lot went out and said to the men who 
had married his daughters, Up ! get you out 
of this place, for the Lord will destroy it. 
But they would not believe him. When the 
morning dawned, the angels hastened Lot, 




ABRAHAM OFFERING ISAAC 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



4i 



and said, Arise, take your wife and your two 
daughters that are here, and get away, lest 
you be destroyed in the punishment of the 
city. Strange to say, he still delayed ; but 
the angels caught them by the hand, and 
brought them out of the city, and said, 
Escape for your life ; do not look behind 



The name of the little city was Zoar. As 
soon as Lot came into it, the Lord rained 
upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and 
fire out of heaven, and overthrew those cities,, 
and all the inhabitants of the plain, and 
everything that grew upon the ground. Bu! 
Lot's wife turned and looked back upon the 




LOT AND HIS FAMILY FLEEING FROM SODOM. 



you, nor stop anywhere in the plain ; escape 
to the mountain, lest you be consumed. 

Lot feared to go to the mountain, and he 
said, There is a little city in this plain ; let 
me stay there. It is but a little one ; will 
not God spare it ? And -the angel said, I 
will not overthrow this city, for which you 
have spoken. Hasten ! escape to it ; for I 
cannot do anything till you are come into it. 



burning cities, and she became a pillar of salt 
After these things Abraham went down tc 
sojourn in the south country and dwelt 
among the Philistines. And the Lord gavs 
to Sarah a son as he had promised to her 
and Abraham. And Abraham called his 
name Isaac. Abraham was a hundred years 
old when Isaac was born. 

And when Isaac came to be a larger boy.. 



42 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



Abraham made a great feast. Now Ishmael 
fiad thought that he should be his father's 
heir, and when he saw that he was supplanted, 
he was very wroth, and spake bitter words, 
and would have done harm to the child. 
His mother also encouraged him in his 
misdoing. Then Sarah said to Abraham, 
cast out this bondwoman and her son ; for 



children after thee, is not in Ishmael but in 
Isaac. Nevertheless, I will make of Ishmael 
a great nation. 

Then Abraham believed that no harm 
should happen to the lad. Therefore he 
rose up early the next morning, and gave 
Hagar provision of bread and a bottle of 
water, putting it on her shoulder, and sent 




DEPARTURE OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL. 



the son of a bondwoman shall not be heir 
along with my son, even with Isaac. But 
the thing was very grievous to Abraham, for 
he loved his son Ishmael. Then the Lord 
said to Abraham, Let not this thing that 
Sarah asketh of thee be grievous unto thee. 
Hearken to her words, for indeed the bless- 
ing that I have promised to thee, and to thy 



her and her son away. And Ishmael was 
now sixteen years of age or thereabouts. 
So Hagar departed, and wandered in the 
wilderness of Beersheba. But all the water 
in the bottle was spent, and the lad lay under 
a shrub, likely to perish of thirst. Then Hagar 
went and sat herself down a long way off 
from the lad, even as far as a man may shoot 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



43 



an arrow. For she said to herself, Let me 
not see the death of the child. And she 
lifted up hei voice and wept. 

Then the Angel of God called to Hagar 
out of heaven, and said, Hagar, what aileth 
thee ? Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him 
in thine hand. I will make him a great 
nation, Then God opened her eyes, and she 
saw a well of water ; and she went, and 
filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad 
drink. And God was with the lad, and he 
grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and 
became an archer, and his mother took him 
a wife out of the land of Egypt. 

The Seven Lambs. 

While Abraham dwelt at Beersheba, 
Abimelech, king of the Philistines, with 
Phichol, who was captain of his host, came 
to him, and said, We see that God is with 
thee in all that thou doest. Now therefore 
swear unto me that thou wilt not deal falsely 
with me, or with my son, or with my son's 
son, but wilt deal truly with me, as I have 
dealt truly with thee. And Abraham said, 
"I will swear." But he said also, Thy 
servants have taken a well by force from my 
servants. 

Abimelech answered, I know not who hath 
done this thing. Thou hast not told me 
aught of it till this day, nor indeed have I 
heard of it at all. Then Abraham set seven 
ewe lambs by themselves ; and when Abime- 
lech asked him why he had so done, he 
said, Thou shalt take these seven ewe lambs 
from me, and thy taking them shall be a 
pledge that indeed my servants have digged 
this well. So these two, Abraham and 
Abimelech, made a covenant or agreement 
between them. For many days did Abraham 
dwell in Beersheba, and he planted a grove 
there and worshipped the Lord. 

After these things God tried Abraham's 



faith, saying to him, Take now thy son, 
thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and 
get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer 
him there for a burnt-offering upon one of 
the mountains that I shall show thee. 

The Sacrifice of Isaac. 

So Abraham rose up early in the morning, 
and saddled his ass, and took two of his 
young men with him, and Isaac his son, and 
clave wood for a burnt-offering, and jour- 
neyed towards the place of which God had 
told him. On the third day of his journeying 
he saw the place afar off. Then he said to 
the young men, Abide here, and I and the 
lad will go yonder and worship, and will 
come again to you. For, indeed, he did 
not doubt but that the lad should come back 
again, even though he should slay him for a 
burnt-offering, for he believed that the Lord 
would even raise him up from the dead. 

And he took the wood for the burnt- 
offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; he 
took fire also, and a knife. So they went 
both of them together. And Isaac said to 
Abraham, Behold the fire and the wood ; but 
where is the lamb for the burnt-offering ? 
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide 
Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. Then 
they came to the place of which God had 
told him ; and Abraham built an altar 
there, and laid the wood in order, and bound 
Isaac his son, and laid him upon the wood. 

Then he stretched forth his hand, and 
took the knife to slay his son. But the 
Angel of the Lord called to him out o< 
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham £ 
And he said, Here am I. Then the Lord 
said, Lay not thine hand on the lad, neither 
do thou anything unto him ; for now J 
know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou 
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 
from me. 



44 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



Then Abraham looked behind him, and 
saw a ram caught in the thicket by his 
horns, and he took the ram and offered it up 
for a sacrifice instead of Isaac his son. 

Then the Lord spake again to him, saying, 
Because thou hast done this thing, and not 
withheld thy son, thine only son, Lorn Me; 
that in blessing I will bless thee, and in 



Abraham came to mourn for her, and to 
weep for her. 

And Abraham ceased from mourning fo? 
the dead, and spake to the children of Heth 
saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with 
you : give me the possession of a burial 
place among you, that I may bury my dear 
out of my sight. 




ABRAHAM OFFERING ISAAC. 



multiplying I will multiply thy posterity as 
the stars of the heaven, and as the sand of 
the seashore for multitude. And in thy 
posterity shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. 
.Then Abraham returned to the young men. 
' After these things Sarah died, being one 
hundred and twenty-seven years old; and 



The children of Heth answered him, Thou 
art a prince among us; choose one of our 
sepulchres wherein to bury thy dead : none 
of us shall refuse thee his sepulchre. 

Then Abraham bowed himself to them, 
and said, If ye are willing that I should bury 
my dead out of my sight, intercede for me 
with Ephron, that he may sell me the cave 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



4W 



of Machpelah that he hath, which is in the 
end of his field: for as much money as it is 
worth shall he sell it me for a burying-place. 

Then Ephron the Hittite said to Abraham, 
My lord, I give thee the field and the cave ; 
here in the presence of all the people I give 
t thee for a possession : bury thy dead. 

Then Abraham bowed himself down, and 
said, If thou art willing that I should have 
the field, I pray thee, hear me : I will give 
thee money for the field. Take the money 
from me, then will I bury my dead. 

Ephron answered him, My lord, hearken 
unto me : The land is worth four hundred 
shekels of silver ; but what is that between 
me and thee ? This was about two hundred 
and forty dollars of our money. 

Then Abraham weighed to Ephron the 
four hundred shekels of silver, even the price 
which he had named in the presence of the 
people. And the field was made over to 
him in the presence of all the people. 

After this Abraham buried Sarah his wife 
an the cave of the field of Machpelah. 

Finding a Wife for Isaac. 

Abraham was now old, and it seemed 
.good to him that he should find a wife for 
Isaac his son. So he spake to Eliezer of 
Damascus, who was his steward and the 
•eldest servant of his house, and said, Swear 
to me by the Lord, the God of heaven and 
earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for 
Isaac my son of the daughters of the 
■Canaanites, among whom I dwell. Thou 
ihalt go unto my own kindred, and take a 
wife from among them for my son. 

Now Abraham knew that Nahor, his 
father's brother, had had sons born to him 
of Milcah, Sarah's sister, and that they 
dwelt in Haran, where he himself had dwelt 
before he came into the land of Canaan. 

Then Eliezer answered, Haply the woman 



will not be willing to follow me into this 
land : must I bring thy son again into the 
land from which thou earnest out ? 

Abraham said, Beware that thou bring 
not my son thither again. The Lord God 
of heaven, which took me from my father's 
house, and from the land of my kindred, 
sware unto me that he would give this land 
to me, and to my children after me. If the 
woman will not follow thee, then thou shalt 
be free of thy oath : but, in any case, thou 
shalt not persuade my son to go back to that 
land. Then Eliezer sware to his master that 
he would do his bidding. And he took ten 
camels of his master's — for all Abraham's 
goods were in his hand — and departed to 
Haran, in Mesopotamia, which was the 
city of Nahor. 

He Comes to a Well. 

And when he was come to the city, he 
made his camels kneel down by a well that 
was outside the walls ; and it was evening- 
time, when the women go out to draw water. 
He prayed, saying, O Lord God of my 
master Abraham, I pray thee, show kindness 
to my master Abraham. Let this come to 
pass : if the damsel to whom I shall say, 
Let down thy pitcher that I may drink, shall 
say, Drink, and I will draw for thy camels 
also ; let the same be she whom thou hast 
appointed for thy servant Isaac ; then shall 
I know that thou hast showed kindness to 
my master. 

And while he was yet speaking, Rebekah, 
that was the daughter of Bethuel, son of 
Nahor and Milcah, came to the well. And 
she was a very fair virgin ; and she went 
down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and* 
came up again. Eliezer said to her, Let me, 
I pray thee, drink a little water out of thy 
pitcher. So she let down her pitcher from 
her shoulder, whereon she carried it, to her 



46 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



hand, and gave him to drink. And when 
he had drunk, she said, I will draw for thy 
camels also, till they shall have done drink- 
ing. So she hasted and emptied the pitcher 
into the trough, and went down again to the 
well, and drew for all the camels. And the 



Whose daughter art thou? Is there room 
in thy father's house for us to lodge ? She 
answered, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the 
son of Nahor. Then the man bowed down 
his head and worshipped, saying, Blessed be 
the Lord God of my master Abraham, for 




-ABRAHAM S SERVANT MEETING REBEKAH. 



man held his peace, wondering whether or 
not the I-ord had prospered his journey. 

When the camels had done drinking, he 
gave her an earring of gold of half a shekel 
in weight, and two bracelets that weighed 
ten shekels together. And he said to her, 



he hath not forgotten his mercy and truth, 
but hath led me to the house of my master's 
brethren. 

Meanwhile Rebekah ran and told all these 
things to her kindred. Now she had a 
brother, whose name was Laban ; and Laban. 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



47 



when he saw the earring and the bracelets 
upon his. sister's- ban<&- vid beard all that 



wherefore standest thou without ? 
prepared thy lodging, and 



room 



I have 
for the 




ISAAC WELCOMING REBEKAH. 



his sister said, went out to meet the man, 
and said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; 



camels. Then Eliezer came into the house; 
and Laban ungirded his camels, and gave 



48 



THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 



straw and provender for his camels, and 
water to wash his feet and the feet of the 
men that were with him. Meat also was 
set before him to eat; but he said, I will 
not eat, till I have told my errand. And 
I^aban said, Speak on. 

The Man Tells his Errand. 

The man said, I am Abraham's servant. 
And the Lord hath greatly blessed my 
master, and he is become great; for the 
Lord hath given him flocks and herds, and 
silver and gold. The Lord gave my master 
a son in his old age, and my master hath 
given him all that he hath. Now my 
master made me swear that I would not take 
a wife for his son from the daughters of 
Canaan, but would go to his own kindred to 
seek among them a wife for his son. So I 
came hither. And I prayed to God, and 
said, I will stand by the well ; and when the 
-damsel cometh to draw water from the well, 
and I say to her, Give me to drink ; if the 
damsel say, Drink, and I will draw for thy 
camels also ; let the same be the woman 
whom the Lord hath appointed for my 
master's son. And lo ! even before I had 
•done speaking, Rebekah came down to draw 
water of the well. And she did as I had 
said. Then I asked her, Whose daughter 
.art thou ? And she said, The daughter of 
Bethuel. Then I put the earring in her ear 
and the bracelets upon her hands. Then I 
bowed down my head and blessed the Lord 
God of my master Abraham, who had led 
me in the right way to find a wife for my 
master's son among his own kindred. And 
now tell me whether ye will deal truly and 
•kindly with my master, that I may go away? 

Laban and Bethuel answered, The thing 
is from the Lord : we cannot say bad or 
good. Behold, Rebekah is here, take her to 
foe the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord 



hath spoken. Then Eliezer worshipped the 
Lord, bowing himself to the earth. Also he 
brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of 
gold, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave 
also to her brother and to her mother 
precious things. After this he and the men 
that were with him ate and drank, and 
tarried all night. 

Rebekah Goes to Meet Isaac. 

The next morning they rose up, and 
Eliezer said, Send me away to my master. 
But the damsel's mother and brother said, 
Let Rebekah abide with us a few days, ten 
at the least. But he said, Hinder me not, 
seeing that the Lord hath prospered me; 
send me away to my master. They an- 
swered, We will call the damsel, and ask 
whether she be willing. So they called 
Rebekah, and asked her, Wilt thou go with 
this man ? And Rebekah said, I will go. 
So they sent away Rebekah and her nurse 
with Abraham's servant and his men. And 
they blessed her. 

So Rebekah and her nurse, and the 
damsels that were with her, departed with 
Abraham's servant, riding upon camels. 
Now, when they came near to the place 
where Isaac dwelt, it chanced that Isaac had 
gone out into the field at eventide to meditate. 
When Rebekah saw him she asked, What 
man is that ? Eliezer answered her, That is 
my master. Then she alighted from her 
camel, and covered herself with a veil. And 
Eliezer told Isaac all that he had done. So 
Rebekah became Isaac's wife, and he was 
comforted after his mother's death. Isaac 
was forty years old when he took Rebekah 
to wife. Abraham lived yet thirty and five 
years after these things. And he died in a 
good old age, being one hundred and seventy- 
five years old. And his sons Isaac and 
Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. 



CHAPTER IV. 

B. C. 1822. 

The Story of Esau and Jacob — Birthright Sold for a Mess of Pottage — Two 
Kids from the Flock — Jacob Obtains the Blessing of Isaac — Dream of the 
Ladder and Angels — Jacob Visits Laban — Leah and Rachel — Serving Fourteen 
Years to Obtain Rachel for a Wife — Happy Meeting of Jacob and Esau. 




SAAC had two sons, 
named Esau and 
Jacob. Though 
they were twin 
brothers, yet they 
grew up veiy un- 
like each other : 
Esau was a hunter, 
and Jacob was a 
shepherd. Esau 
was the elder of 
the two brothers, 
and as such, he had 
certain privileges 
called the birthright. The first-born son was 
always held in honor next to his parents — 
he had twice as much of his father's goods 
as the other sons. When the father died, 
then he became the head of the family, and 
ruled over his brothers and sisters. As in 
those days the father was the priest and 
minister of religion to the family, so this 
office at his death passed to his eldest son. 
With the birthright went the father's special 
blessing. 

One day Esau came in from the field 
where he had been hunting, or working, to 
the tent where Jacob was. He was very 
hungry and tired : he felt as if he should 
die, he was so faint. 

When Esau came in, Jacob was boiling 



some red lentils in oil. These, when cooked 
make a mess of red pottage. Esau said to 
his brother, Give me that mess of red pot- 
tage, for I am hungry and faint. Jacob 
unkindly said, I will not let you have it 
unless you will sell me your birthright for it. 

Esau did not care much for houses and 
lands, and silver and gold. And he said to 
Jacob, I am at the point of death, and what 
good will a birthright do me ? So he sold 
his birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage^ 
and did eat and drink, and then went on 
his way. 

When Isaac was so old that his eyes were 
dim, and he could not see, he called Esau to 
him and said : I am an old man, and I know 
not how soon I may die. Take then, I pray 
thee, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out 
into the field, and get me some venison 
And make me a nice dish of it, such as I 
love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and 
bless thee before I die. 

And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to 
Esau his son ; and Esau went to the field to 
hunt for venison. And Rebekah told Jacob, 
word for word, what Isaac had said to Esau. 
And she said, Now, my son, obey my voice, 
and do as I command you. Go to the flock, 
and bring me two good kids from the goats, 
and I will season the meat well, and make 
such a dish as will please thy father. 
And thou shalt bring it to thy father, 

49 



50 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



that he may eat, and bless thee before 
he dies. 

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, But my 
brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a 
smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel of 
me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, 
and I shall bring a curse upon myself, and 
not a blessing. 

His mother said, Upon me be thy curse, 
my son. Only do as I bid thee, and go 
fetch the young kids. And he went, and 
brought them to his mother, and she made 
of them such a dish as his father loved. 

Jacob in Esau's Clothes. 

And Rebekah took the best clothes of her 
eldest son Esau, which were in the house, 
and put them on Jacob her younger son. 
And she put the skins of the kids on his 
hands, and on the smooth part of his neck. 
And she gave the meat and the bread into 
the hand of her son Jacob. And he came 
near to Isaac, and said, My father. And 
Isaac said, Here am I ; who art thou, my 
son ? Jacob said, I am Esau thy first-born ; 
I have done as thou didst bid me. Rise, I 
pray thee, and eat of my venison, that thy 
soul may bless me. 

Isaac said, How is it thou hast found it so 
quickly, my son ? And he said, Because the 
Lord led the way. And Isaac said to Jacob, 
Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, 
my son, whether thou be my son Esau, or 
not. And Jacob went near to Isaac his 
father; and he felt him, and said, The voice 
is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands 
of Esau. And as he could not see, he 
blessed him, thinking he was Esau. And 
he said, Art thou my very son Esau ? And 
he said, I am. 

And Isaac ate of the venison, and drank 
of the wine that Jacob brought. And he 
said, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 



And Jacob came near, and kissed him ; and 
he smelled the smell of his clothes and 
blessed him, and said, The smell of my son 
is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath 
blessed. And he told his son that God 
would take care of him, and give him great 
wealth, and make him a ruler over many 
nations. 

Jacob had scarce left the presence of Isaac 
his father, when Esau his brother came in 
from the hunt. And he also cooked some 
meat and brought it to his father, and said, 
Rise now, and eat of thy son's venison, that 
thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said to 
him, Who art thou ? And he said, I am 
thy first-born, Esau. And Isaac trembled 
greatly, and said, Who, and where is he that 
hath taken venison, and brought it to me, 
and I have eaten before thou earnest, and 
have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be 
blessed. 

The Blessing Stolen. 

And when Esau heard the words of his 
father, he cried out with a great and exceed- 
ing bitter cry, Bless me, even me also, O my 
father. And he said, Thy brother came, and 
by fraud hath taken away thy blessing. 
And he said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? 
for he hath twice supplanted me. He took 
away my birthright ; and now he hath 
caken away my blessing. And he said, Hast 
thou not reserved a blessing for me ? 

Isaac said to Esau, Behold, I have made 
him thy lord, and all his brethren have I 
given to him for servants, and have made 
him rich and great ; and what shall I do 
now unto thee, my son ? Esau said, Hast 
thou but one blessing, my father ? bless me, 
even me also, O my father! And Esau 
lifted up his voice and wept. 

And Isaac, pierced to the heart, said unto 
him, By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



51 



serve thy brother ; and it shall come to pass 
when thou shalt rule in the land, that thou 
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. 

Esau, more ready to blame others than 
himself, hated Jacob because of the blessing 
his father had given him ; and he planned 
to kill his brother, as soon as his father was 
laid in the grave. He thought that Isaac's 



to him, she said, I will send and fetch thee 
from thence. Why should I lose both of 
you in one day ? 

And Rebekah made an excuse to Isaac 
for sending her favorite son away. She was 
not pleased with Esau's wives, nor did she 
wish her son Jacob to take a wife from the 
daughters of Heth. She told Isaac so, and 




ISAAC BLESSING JACOB. 



death was near at hand, but the old man 
lived many years longer ; and in the mean- 
time this threat of Esau's came to the ears 
of Rebekah. 

She sent for Jacob, and told him that Esau 
meant to kill him, and bade him go to Haran, 
where Laban, her brother, dwelt, and stay 
with him till Esau's anger was turned away. 
When he has forgotten what thou hast done 



Isaac sent Jacob to Padan-aram, to the house 
of Bethuel, his mother's father, and bade him 
take a wife from among the daughters of 
Laban, the brother cf Rebekah. 

And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and 
took his way toward Haran. Jacob set out 
from Beer-sheba all alone. It was not usual 
in those days to do this, as there was danger 
of meeting wild beasts or wicked men. But 



62 

Jacob stole out in this quiet way from his 
home, because he was afraid of his own 
brother Esau; and he wished to make no 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



he stayed there all night. He took a stone 
and placed it so that it would do for pillows, 
and then laid down to sleep, for he was very 




show or parade to excite Esau's feelings, and 
make him more angry and jealous. 

And he went on toward Haran ; and 
when he came to a certain place, at sunset, 



jacob*s vision of angels. 

tired. And as he slept he dreamed. And 
in his dream he saw a ladder reaching from 
earth to heaven, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending on it. And be- 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



53 



hold, the Lord stood above it, and said that 
he would do great things for him. And h^ 
said, Behold, I am with thee, and will bring 
thee again to this land ; for I will not leave 
thee until I have done that which I have 
spoken to thee of. 

And Jacob woke out of his sleep, and 
said, Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I 
knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, 
How dreadful is this place ! This is none 
other than the house of God, and this is the 
gate of heaven. 

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, 
and took the stone that he had put for his 
pillow, and set it up on one end for a pillar, 
to mark the place, so that he would know it 
when he came back from his errand. And 
he poured oil on top of the pillar, as a token 
of praise to God. And he called the name of 
that place Bethel : that is, The House of God. 

The Sheep at the WelL 

And Jacob vowed a vow — or, as we say, 
he took an oath — and said, If God will be 
with me, and will keep me in this way that I 
go, and will give me food and clothes, so 
that I come back to my father's house in 
peace, then shall the Lord be my God. 
And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, 
shall be God's house ; and of all that thou 
shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth 
unto thee. 

Then Jacob went on his journey, and 
came to the land of the children of the east. 
And he looked, and saw a well in a field ; 
and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying 
by it ; for out of that well they watered the 
flocks. And a great stone was on the mouth 
of the well. And there were all the flocks 
gathered. And the shepherds rolled the 
Stone from the mouth of the well, and 
watered the sheep, and then put the stone 
back in its place again. 



Jacob drew near and asked them whence 
they came. We are from Haran, they said. 
Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? 
inquired Jacob. And they said, We know 
him. Jacob said to them, Is he well ? They 
said, He is well ; and behold, Rachel his. 
daughter cometh this way with her sheep. 
And he toid the men to make haste and. 
water the sheep, and then go and feed them. 
But they said they could not do this ; that 
they must wait until all the flocks were 
gathered there; then the stone would be 
rolled from the mouth of the well, =md they 
could water the sheep. This was so there 
would be no waste of the precious water. 

And while he yet spake with them, Rachel, 
came up with her father's sheep, for she took: 
care of them. And when Jacob saw Rachel, 
he drew near, and rolled the stone from the 
mouth of the well, and watered the flock of 
Laban, his mother's brother. And Jacob 
kissed Rachel and wept for joy. And he- 
told her that her father was his uncle, and: 
that he was Rebekah's son. And Rachel, 
ran and told her father. 

Laban's Two Daughters. 

When Laban heard that Jacob, his sister's 
son, was near, he ran to meet him, and threw 
his arms around his neck, and kissed him, 
and brought him to his house. And Jacob 
told Laban what he had come for. Laban 
said to him, Surely thou art my bone and 
my flesh ; and Jacob stayed with him for 
the space of a month. Then Laban said to 
Jacob, Because thou art related to me, 
shouldst thou work for me for nothing ? 
Tell me what shall thy wages be ? 

Laban had two daughters : the name of 
the elder was Leah, and the name of the 
younger was Rachel. Leah was tender- 
eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well 
formed. And Jacob loved Rachel. So when 



54 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



Laban asked what wages he would take, he 
said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, 
thy younger daughter. Laban said, It is 
better that I give her to thee, than that I 
should give her to another man. So stay 
with me. And Jacob served seven years for 
Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few 
days, so great was his love for her. 



whom he had wed ; and he went at once to 
Laban, and said, What is this thou hast done 
to me ? did I not serve with thee for Rachel ? 
Why hast thou played me such a trick ? 

Laban said, It is not the custom of our 
country to give the younger before the first- 
born. Be true to Leah, and thou shalt have 
Rachel also, if thou wilt serve me for another 




JACOB MEETING RACHEL. 



And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my 
wife, for the time is up that I said I would 
serve thee. And Laban gathered together 
all the men of the place and made a feast. 
And in the evening he brought in Leah, 
closely veiled, so that her face could not be 
seen, and Jacob took her for his wife. In 
the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah 



seven years. And Jacob did so, and Laban 
gave him his daughter Rachel for a wife, for 
there was no law in those days to prevent a 
man from having more than one wife. And 
Jacob loved Rachel far more than he did 
Leah, and stayed with Laban even another 
seven years on her account. God gave 
children to Leah ; but Rachel had no children, 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



55 



and her heart was sad, and she was very 
jealous of her sister. But at last God heard 
her prayer, and gave Rachel a son. And 
she called his name Joseph. 

By this time Jacob had become a rich 
man, and had flocks and herds of his own. 
And Laban's son spoke ill of Jacob ; and 



home of Isaac, his father. And on the way 
a company of angels met him. And when 
Jacob saw them he said, This is God's host 
And he called the name of that place 
Mahanaim, which means Two hosts, or camps. 
Jacob was still afraid of his brother Esau, 
and had sent messengers to speak with him, 




LAB AN HIRING JACOB. 



Laban was not the good friend to him that he 
had been. And God told Jacob to go back 
to his own country. So Jacob put his wives 
and his sons on camels, and took all the 
flocks and herds, and everything that he 
owned, and left Laban, and went back to the 



and to offer him rich gifts if he would be at 
peace with him. The messengers brought 
word that Esau was on his way to meet 
Jacob with four hundred men. Jacob was 
in great fear, and prayed to God to save him 
from the hands of his brother who hated him 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



57 



to meet him, and fell on his neck and kissed 
him ; and they both wept together, and all 
the past was forgiven. Then Esau raised 
his eyes, and saw the women and children, 
and said, Who are those with thee? And 
Jacob said, The children which God hath 
given thy servant. And they all bowed 
down before Esau. Then Esau said, What 



face, and to know thou art pleased with 
me, is as if I had seen the face of God 
He said God had been good to him, and he 
had enough and to spare, and he urged Esau 
so strongly to take his gifts, that Esau did 
so. And Esau went back to Seir, where he 
lived ; and Jacob went on his way. And 
God told him to go up to Bethel and dwell 




THE MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU. 



meanest thou by all this drove which I met ? 
Jacob told him they were sent as a present 
to him. Esau said, I have enough, my 
brother ; keep what is thine own. 

And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now 
I have found grace in thy sight (that is, if 
thou art good friends with me), then take 
the present I bring. For to have seen thy 



there for a while, and build there an altar to 
the God who came to him when he fled 
from his brother Esau. 

Now Rachel when she left her father's 
house stole some of the images that she had 
been wont to worship. And when God told 
Jacob to go up to Bethel he said to his 
household, and to all that were with him, 



58 



THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 



;put away the strange gods that are among 
you, and let us go up to Bethel, and I will 
make there an altar unto God, who helped 
me when I was in distress, and took care of 
me on my journey. And they took their 
earrings from their ears, and gave them and 
the idols to Jacob, and he buried them in 
the ground under an oak tree which was 
near Shechem. And they came to Bethel, 
and Jacob built an altar there and gave 
praise to God. 

It was here that Deborah, Rebekah's 
'nurse, died and was buried under an oak. 
God appeared to Jacob again and blessed him, 
telling him his name should not be called 
Jacob any more, but he should be called 
Israel. And a promise was given to Jacob 
that he should be the father of nations, and 
would have kings for his posterity. Then 
God said to Jacob, The land which I gave 
Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, 
and to thy children after thee will I give the 
land. And God went up from Jacob in the 



place where he talked with him. And Jacob 
set up a pillar in that place; it was a pillar 
of stone, and he poured oil on it. Anct 
Jacob called the name of the place where 
God talked with him Bethel. The meaning 
of the name Bethel is, the house of God 
Jacob had been blessed and he set up the 
stone and poured oil on it to mark the place 
where the promise was made to him that 
nations should come from him. 

As they went from Bethel, they came near 
to a place called Ephrath — where Bethlehem 
now is. And there God gave Jacob and 
Rachel another son. And his father called 
him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was 
buried on the way to Bethlehem. And 
Jacob set up a stone on her grave, to mark 
the spot where she lay. Jacob came back 
to Hebron, to the land where Isaac his father 
dwelt, and made his home there. And Isaac 
lived to be one hundred and eighty years 
old, and then he died, and Jacob and Esau 
buried him. 




CHAPTER V 



B. C. 1729. 

The Story of Joseph — A Boy in a Pit — Sold Away into Egypt — The Coat Dyed 
with Blood — Telling the Meaning of Dreams — Wearing the King's Ring — 
Famine in all Lands — Joseph's Brethren in Egypt — Jacob and Benjamin. 




ACOB had twelve 
sons. The young- 
est two were 
Joseph and Ben- 
jamin, whose 
mother was Ra- 
chel. Jacob's 
sons were shep- 
herds ; and Jo- 
seph too, as soon 
as he was old 
enough, was sent 
out into the fields 
to help his brother to feed the flocks. Now 
of all his sons, Jacob loved Joseph the most. 
He was the child of Rachel whom Jacob 
dearly loved ; and also Joseph was more 
upright and true than his elder brothers. 
When he was with them out in the fields he 
saw them doing many wrong things, and he 
thought their father ought to know it. So 
Joseph told him of all their wicked conduct, 
and this made them dislike him very much. 
Besides this, they had another reason for 
hating him. Their father Jacob, to show 
how much he loved his favorite son, gave 
him a coat of many colors. This was a 
mark of very great distinction and honor, 
and it is supposed also to have been a sign 
that the person wearing it was intended to 
be his father's heir. All these things made 



Joseph's brothers so angry and jealous that 
they could not speak peaceably to him ; they 
hated him, and were rough and unkind to him. 

Joseph's Strange Dream. 

One night Joseph dreamed a very strange 
dream, and he told it to his brothers. He 
said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream 
which I have dreamed. I thought we were 
all in the field binding sheaves, and, lo, my 
sheaf arose and stood upright ; and, behold, 
your sheaves stood round about, and bowed 
low to my sheaf. 

Joseph's brothers were very angry when 
they heard this dream, and they said scorn- 
fully, Do you indeed think that you will 
reign over us ? and do you really suppose 
that you will have the mastery over us? 
And they hated him yet the more for his 
dreams and for his words. 

After this he had another strange dream 
which he told to his brothers. He said, 
Behold, I have dreamed a dream more ; and, 
behold, the sun, and the moon, and the 
eleven stars, bowed down to me. 

Joseph told this dream to his father as well 
as to his brothers ; and his father rebuked 
him gently, and said, What is this dream 
that you have dreamed ? Shall I and your 
mother and your brothers indeed come 
to bow down ourselves to you to the 
earth ? 

59 



60 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH 



And his brothers envied him. But his 
father thought a great deal about this dream 
and the strangeness of it, and wondered 
what it could really mean. 

You know, when people have large flocks 
of sheep and goats and cattle to take care of, 
they are obliged to take them from place to 
place to get fresh grass for them to eat. So, 



he answered, Here am I. And Jacob said, 
Go, I pray you, see whether it be well with 
your brothers, and well with the flocks; 
and bring me word again. 

With a light heart, Joseph set off to do his 
father's bidding. How little could either of 
them know, when he left his father's tents 
that day, that he would never return to that 




JOSEPH'S DREAM OF THE SUN, MOON AND ELEVEN STARS. 



after a time, Joseph's brothers took their 
father's flock to Shechem, to feed them there. 
One day Jacob said to Joseph, Your brothers 
are feeding the flock in Shechem. Come, 
and I will send you to them. Jacob never 
thought there could be any danger, and 
Joseph was not afraid. He was quite ready 
and willing to go wherever he was sent, so 



home any more ; and that years and years 
would pass away before he should again see 
that dear father's face. 

Without any fear of coming evil, Joseph 
passed on, out of the vale of Hebron, till he 
came to Shechem; but his brothers were 
nowhere to be seen. He wandered about in 
the fields, looking for them, but he could not 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



61 



Snd them. At last a man saw him as he 
was wandering about, and asked Aim, For 
what are you looking? 

Joseph answered, I am looking for my 
brothers. Tell me, I pray you, where they 
feed their flocks. And the man said, They 
are gone from here ; for I heard them say, 
Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after 
his brothers, and found them in Dothan. 
But while he was still a long way off, his 




SHEPHERD LEADING HIS FLOCK. 

brothers saw him as he was crossing the 
valley to meet them ; and at the sight of 
him, wearing the coat of many colors, all 
their bitter, jealous feelings grew more strong. 
They hated him, and now their only wish 
was to kill him. 

So they began to plan how it was to be 
done. They said one to another, Look, this 
dreamer is coming. Come now, therefore, 
let; us kill him and throw him into some 



large pit or hole, and then we will say that 
a savage animal has eaten him ; and we shall 
see what will become of his dreams. 

All of the wicked brothers agreed to this 
plan except Reuben, the eldest. He was 
shocked at the thought of killing his young 
brother. So he said to them, Do not let us 
kill him. Shed no blood, but throw him 
into this pit that is here in this lonely place 
in the wilderness ; and do not let us hurt 
him. For Reuben intended 
to take him out of the pit 
again secretly, and to take 
him back to his father. 

After they had cast Joseph 
into the pit, they coolly sat 
down to eat bread. But 
Reuben had gone away. 
The others were still sit- 
ting near the pit eating their 
meal, when they looked up 
and saw a company of Ish- 
maelites, with their camels, 
coming that way. They had 
with them some spices and 
balm and myrrh, which they 
were carrying down into 
Egypt to sell there. And 
now a fresh thought came 
into the minds of these cruel 
men ; and Judah said to his 
brothers, What good will it 
do us if we kill our brother, 
or if we leave him in this pit to starve to 
death? Come, and let us sell him to the 
Ishmaelites, and do not let us hurt him; 
for after all he is our brother. 

And his brethren were content to do as 
Judah had said. So they lifted up Joseph 
out of the pit, and when the Ishmaelites 
passed by, they sold him to them for twenty 
pieces of silver. And the Ishmaelites took 
him, and carried him into Egypt to be a slave. 



62 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



Some time afterwards, when his brothers 
were out of sight, Reuben went to the pit to 
draw up poor Joseph, and to take him back 
to his father again. He looked in, and, 
behold, Joseph was not in the pit ! In great 
distress and grief he tore his clothes. In 
'that country it is a sign of great sorrow and 



he might not think they had done anything 
to Joseph. This is what they did. They 
took Joseph's coat of many colors, and they 
killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat 
in the blood. Then they carried the coat, 
all covered with blood, to their father, 
and said to him, We found this ; do you 




JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. 



mourning to tear the clothes ; and Reuben 
showed by this how bitterly he grieved. 

He went at once to his brothers, and said 
to them, The child is gone — he is not in the 
pit ; and I, what shall I do ? where shall I go? 

And now they began to consult together 
what lie they should tell their father, so that 



think it can really be Joseph's coat or not ? 

When Jacob saw it, he knew it at once, 
and a terrible pain came into his heart. He 
said, It is my son's coat ; a wild beast has 
devoured him : Joseph is without a doubt 
torn in pieces. 

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put a 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



63 



coarse kind of cloth, called sackcloth, upon 
him (to wear sackcloth is another sign of 
grief) ; and he mourned his beloved son 
many days. 

And all his sons and all his daughters 
rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to be 
comforted. He said, I will go down into the 
grave unto my son mourning. Thus his 
father wept for him. 

At last the Ishmaelites with their captive 
boy, and their camels, laden with spices, 
arrived in Egypt. 

Now Joseph was a very handsome youth ; 
and Potiphar, who was an officer of King 
Pharaoh, and captain of the guard, thought 
he would like to have him for a servant. 
So he bought him from the Ishmaelites, who 
had carried him down into that country. 
And the Lord was with Joseph, so that he 
became a very prosperous man ; and he was 
in the house of his master the Egyptian. 

But what a change this was for him! 
Instead of the robe of honor — the coat of 
many colors — he now wore the dress of a 
slave. Instead of being in the position of 
the favorite son of a rich and powerful chief, 
he was now a servant in a strange land. 
And instead of being free to look after his 
father's flocks in the green valleys and on the 
steep slopes of beautiful Canaan — he himself 
a young shepherd chief — he now had to wait 
upon the orders of his master, and could 
only go where he was sent. 

Joseph Promoted. 

And his master saw that the Lord was 
with him, and that the Lord made all that 
he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph 
found grace in his sight, and he served him 
faithfully ; so Potiphar made him overseer — 
that is, gave him charge — over his house ; 
and all that he had he put into Joseph's 
hands. 



From the time that he had made him over- 
seer in his house, and over all that he had, 
the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for 
Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord 
was upon all that he had, in the house and 
in the field. And Potiphar left the whok 
management of everything to Joseph, without 
even taking the trouble to look after him, fo* 
he knew that Joseph was faithful and upright. 

But it came to pass after these things that 
his master's wife, who was a very wicked 
woman, tried to make Joseph as wicked as 
herself. She was deceitful, and would do 
things behind her husband's back that she 
would not do if he were near; and she 
wanted Joseph to be deceitful too. But he 
would not listen to her; for he feared God s 
and he was true to his master. 

Many times she tried to tempt him into 
sin; but he said to her, My master trusts 
me. He has given into my charge every- 
thing that is in the house, and he has been 
very kind to me. How, then, can I deceive 
him? it would be a great wickedness, and 
a sin against God. 

Accused by a Woman. 

His master's wife became very angry at 
last, and she determined to get him into 
trouble and disgrace. So one day, as soon 
as Potiphar, her husband, had come into the 
house, she went to him and said, The 
Hebrew servant whom you have brought 
unto us is not as good as you think him to 
be. When you were out he came and wa? 
very rude to me, and mocked me; but when 
I cried out, he was frightened and ran away 

When Potiphar heard the words of his 
wife which she spoke to him, saying, Aftei 
this manner did your servant behave to me. 
he was exceedingly angry. He never 
thought that his wicked wife was telling him 
what was untrue ; he believed all that she- 



<64 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



said, and so he was determined to punish 
Joseph. He took him, and put him into 
the prison which was in his house. It was a 
place where the king's prisoners were bound ; 
and he was there in the prison. 

Once more, you see, Joseph was suffering 
from the wickedness of others. He had 
done nothing wrong, he had bravely done 
the right, yet now he was punished as a 
wrong-doer. He was bound with heavy 
chains ; and the iron chains that were round 
:his feet hurt him very much ; and his heart 
•was sad. 

But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed 
him mercy. The keeper of the prison 
treated Joseph with kindness, so that before 
very long his chains were taken off, and he 
was allowed to walk about. Then, when 
the keeper of the prison saw how perfectly 
he was to be trusted, he gave into Joseph's 
care all the other prisoners that were in the 
prison ; and whatever they did there he was 
'the doer of it. 

Two More Prisoners. 

Nine long, weary years passed away, and 
Joseph was still a prisoner. Though he was 
so much trusted, yet he was not allowed to 
leave the prison ; he was still in disgrace — 
still suffering from the wicked lies of Poti- 
pha.r's wife. 

Now it happened c*ie day that the king of 
Egypt was very angry with two of his 
servants. The chief butler and the chief 
baker had provoked the king so much that 
he told Potiphar to take them away to prison. 
Potiphar, therefore, brought them to Joseph, 
and ordered them to be bound with chains, 
and told him to be sure and keep them safely. 

The chief butler and the chief baker had 
been for some time in prison, when they both 
had a dream in the same night. Each 
of them had a different dream : and when 



they awoke they could not help thinking 
about it, and it made them feel very 
miserable. When Joseph came in to them 
next morning, as he was always accustomed 
to do, to give them their food, he noticed 
at once that they were looking very much 
cast down. So he asked Pharaoh's servants, 
saying, Why do you look so sad to-day ? 

And they said to him, We have dreamed 
a dream, and there is no one to tell us the 
meaning of it. And Joseph said, God sends 
dreams, and he can show you what they 
mean ; so tell me, I pray you, what it is you 
have dreamed. 

A Vine With Three Branches. 

And the chief butler told his dream 
to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, 
behold, a vine was before me. And on the 
vine were three branches ; and it seemed 
as if these branches began to bud and to 
blossom. Then clusters of grapes grew on 
them, and the grapes were quite ripe. And 
Pharaoh's cup was in my hand ; and I took 
the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's 
cup, and I gave the cup into the king's hand. 

This was the butler's dream. And when 
Joseph heard it, he knew at once what the 
meaning of it was ; for God gave him wisdom, 
and the power to explain or interpret dreams^ 

And Joseph said to the chief butler, This 
is the meaning of your dream. The three 
branches are three days. In three days 
Pharaoh will take you out of prison, and will 
let you go back to your place in the king's 
house. And you shall give the cup of wine 
into Pharaoh's hand again, as you used tc 
do when you were his butler. But do 
remember me when it shall be well with you, 
and show your kindness to me, I pray you ; 
and tell Pharaoh about me, so that I may be 
taken out of this prison. For indeed I was 
stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



65 



and here also I have done nothing that they 
should shut me up in a place like this. 

Three White Baskets. 

When the chief baker saw what a happy 
meaning there was to the butler's dream, 
he was in a great hurry to tell about his own ; 
and he said to Joseph, In my dream, 
I thought that I had three white baskets 
on my head. In the top basket there were 
all manner of cakes, and of baked meats, for 
Pharaoh ; and the birds came and ate all the 
cakes and baked meats out of the basket that 
was on my head. 

Joseph told him the meaning of his dream. 
He said, The three baskets mean three days. 
In three days Pharaoh will take you out 
of prison, and will have you hung up on 
a tree ; and when you are dead, the birds 
will come and will eat your flesh off you. 

Just as Joseph had said, it all came to pass. 
Three days after he had explained the mean- 
ing of the dreams, it was Pharaoh's birthday ; 
and the king made a great feast for all his 
servants. Then he sent for the chief butler 
and the chief baker out of prison ; and when 
they came before him, he forgave the butler, 
and said that he might wait upon him as he 
had done before : so the butler gave the cup 
again into Pharaoh's hand. 

But the king would not forgive the chief 
baker. He ordered him to be hanged, just 
as Joseph had told him he would do. 

The butler was a very ungrateful man. 
He quite forgot Joseph ; he quite forgot the 
earnest request that he would mention Joseph 
to the king, and get him taken out of prison. 
Month after month the poor prisoner waited, 
hoping that some one would come to set 
him free ; but he waited in vain. 

God had not forgotten Joseph, though he 
chose to try his patience by keeping him so 
long in prison. In his own good time he 
5 



prepared the way for setting the prisoner 
free ; and this was how he brought it about. 
Two full years had passed away since the 
ungrateful butler had left the prison (where 
Joseph had now been shut up for more than 
eleven years), when one night Pharaoh, king 
of Egypt, had a very strange dream. 

The Fat and Lean Cows. 

He thought he was standing by the river 
Nile, which runs through the land of Egypt ; 
and, behold, there came up out of the river 
seven very nice-looking fat cows. In that 
country cattle are very fond of standing quite 
up to their necks in water, both because of 
the heat, and also to protect themselves from 
the flies and insects. These cows that 
Pharaoh was watching in his dream began 
to feed in a meadow. Afterwards he thought 
he saw seven other kine, or cows, come up 
out of the river; they were very thin and 
ugly, and they stood by the other cows upon 
the brink of the river. And the thin, ugly 
cows ate up the fat, nice-looking ones. 
Then Pharaoh awoke. 

But he slept again, and had another 
strange dream. This time he thought he 
saw seven ears of corn come up upon one 
stalk, full of good grain. And, behold, seven 
thin ears, all shrivelled and withered with 
the east wind, sprang up after them. And 
the seven thin ears ate up the seven good 
and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and. 
behold, it was a dream. 

Sends for Joseph. 

In the morning his spirit was troubled. 
He felt that his dreams must have a meaning, 
and he longed to have them explained to 
him. So he sent for all the wise men of 
Egypt, and for the men who studied secret 
arts, and who pretended to understand 
dreams ; but when the king had told them 



86 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH, 



his dreams, not one of them could tell him 
the meaning of them. 

At last the butler thought of Joseph. He 
felt ashamed and sorry that he could have 
forgotten him so long, and that he had not 
kept his promise to him. He spoke to the 



youug man, an Hebrew, servant to Potiphar, 
the captain of the guard ; and we told him 
our dreams, and he explained to us the 
meaning of them. He said that I should be 
the king's butler again, but that the baker 
would be hanged. And it all happened 




JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH S DREAMS. 



king, and said, I do remember my faults this 
day. Pharaoh was angry with his servants, 
and put me in prison in the house of the 
captain of the guard, both me and the chief 
baker. And we dreamed a dream in one 
night, J and he ; each of us had a different 
dream. And there was there with us a 



exactly as he had told us. When Pharaoh 
heard this, he ordered some men to go 
quickly and bring Joseph to him. So the)' 
went in haste and took him out of prison, 
where he had been so long. Then he shaved 
off his beard, and cut his hair short, in the 
way the Egyptians were accustomed to do ; 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



67 



and he changed his garments, to make him- 
self fit to appear before the king. Then, 
when he was quite ready, they brought him 
to Pharaoh. 

And the king said to Joseph, I have 
dreamed a dream, and there is no one to tell 
me what it means. But I hear that you are 
able to explain the meaning of dreams. 

And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It 
is not in me — I cannot do it of myself ; God 
shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. 

What the Dreams Meant* 

And Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams. 
And Joseph said unto the king, Both the 
dreams have the same meaning; and God 
has showed Pharaoh what he is going to do. 
The seven good kine are seven years ; and 
the seven good ears of corn are seven years ; 
the dream is one. And the seven thin kine, 
and the seven thin ears of corn, are also 
seven years — seven years of famine. 

This is what God is going to do, and what 
he has shown to Pharaoh. There are going 
to be seven years of very great plenty in all 
the land of Egypt. But afterwards there 
will come seven years of famine. And all 
the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of 
Egypt, and the famine shall consume the 
land ; for it shall be very grievous. And the 
reason that the dream was doubled unto 
Pharaoh twice, is because God will certainly 
bring it to pass ; and he will do it soon. 

When Joseph had finished explaining 
about the dreams to Pharaoh, he began to 
advise the king what to do. He said, Let 
Pharaoh look out a man who is very prudent 
and wise, and let him be set over the land of 
Egypt. And while the seven years of plenty 
last, let him be careful to gather up all the 
food of those good years that come, and save 
up corn for Pharaoh. So, when the seven 
years of famine come, there will be food for 



the peoplt ; and the land will not be 
destroyed with famine, even though no corn 
will be growing in the fields. 

Made Ruler of Egypt. 

And Pharaoh said to his servants, Where 
can we find such a wise man as Joseph? for 
the Spirit of God is in him. And Pharaoh 
said unto Joseph, Because God has showed 
you all this, I know that you are more wise 
and prudent than any one else. So I will 
set you over my house, and all my people 
shall be ruled as you advise. And you shall 
be greater than any other man in my king- 
dom, except myself. 

Here was a great and wonderful change 
for Joseph. In the morning he was a 
prisoner and a slave; before evening came 
he was like a prince — honored and trusted 
by the king, and made the greatest man 
in all that land. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 
See, I have set }'ou over all the land of Egypt. 

And Pharaoh took off his ring from his 
hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand ; and 
he gave him beautiful garments to wear, and 
he put a gold chain round his neck. He also 
made him to ride in a very grand chariot- 
one of his own carriages — and they called 
him the Father of the country. 

And the king said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, 
and without you shall no man lift up his 
hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. By 
this Pharaoh meant that he gave Joseph the 
power to do exactly as he liked in all that 
land, and that no one was to attempt to 
disobey his orders. 

As another mark of his favor, the king 
gave Joseph a wife out of one of the chief 
families in Egypt ; so he now had a happy 
home in the country where he had been 
a slave. And all the people showed him the 
same respect and reverence that was due to 
a great prince ; for King Pharaoh had made 



68 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



Joseph ruler over the whole land of Egypt. 
Joseph was thirty years old when he was 
made ruler of Egypt. And as soon as he 
had gone out from the presence of Pharaoh, 
he went through all the land of Egypt about 
the king's business. He did not neglect the 
work that was given him to do ; and as he 



and cities he stored up the grain that he had 
collected out of the fields round those cities. 
And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the 
sea, very much, until he left off numbering ; 
for it was without number. 

During those years of plenty, two little 
sons were born to Joseph, and this was a^ 




JOSEPH PROCLAIMED RULER OF EGYPT. 



had before been faithful and true in little 
things, he now showed himself to be equally 
upright and honest in great things. 

While the seven years of plentiful harvests 
and abundance of food lasted, Joseph was 
diligent in gathering up all the spare corn 



over all the country. In each of the towns which means " fruitfulness ; " for, he said, 



great happiness and delight to him. He 
called the name of the first-born Manasseh, 
which means "forgetting; " for God, he said, 
has made me to forget all my troubles and 
sorrows. 

And his second son he called Ephraim, 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH, 



69 



•God has greatly blessed me in the land of 
my affliction. 

The seven years of great plenty were at an 
■ end, and the seven years of famine began to 
come, just as Joseph had said. The dearth, 
•or scarceness of food, was not in the land of 
Egypt only, but in all the surrounding 
countries also ; yet it was only in Egypt that 
there was corn for making bread. 

A Great Famine. 

The people had nothing to eat, so they 
went to Pharaoh, and cried to him for bread — 
they told him they were starving. And 
Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, Go 
to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do. 

Then the people took their money to 
Joseph, and he opened the storehouses, and 
sold corn to all the Egyptians. And the 
famine was very grievous. People also came 
from other countries to buy corn, because 
the famine was so sore. 

What do you think was happening in the 
land of Canaan all this time — in the land 
where Jacob lived ? The famine was there 
too ; and the sons of Jacob were in great dis- 
tress about it. They did not know what to 
<io, or where they should go for food ; and 
they were afraid that their wives and their 
little children would all be starved to death. 

But Jacob said to his sons one day, Why 
do you look one upon another ? Why do 
you stand still doing nothing? Behold, I 
have heard that there is corn in Egypt ! Get 
you down to that country, and buy food for 
us, that we may live, and not die. 

So it was decided that Joseph's ten brothers 
should go down to Egypt to buy corn. 
But Jacob would not let Benjamin, his young- 
est son, go down with them, for he said, 
Perhaps some harm might befall him. 

When his brothers arrived before Joseph, 
they did not know him. They never once 



thought that this was the brother they had 
sold, more than twenty years before, for 
twenty pieces of silver. 

He was only a young lad then. Now 
they saw before them a very handsome man, 
with his hair cut and arranged in the peculiar 
way that the Egyptians were accustomed to 
wear it. He was also dressed like an 
Egyptian, and he was called by another 
name, which the king had given him, to 
make the people forget that he had come 
from another country, and was not really an 
Egyptian. Besides all this, he was the lord 
of the land ; so no wonder they did not 
know him. 

But Joseph knew them in a moment! 
Yet he would not tell them who he was, for 
he wanted to prove them, and to see whether 
they were better men than they were when 
he was at home with them. So when his 
ten brothers bowed down very humbly 
before him, with their faces to the earth, he 
spoke roughly to them, and said, Where do 
you come from ? And they answered, From 
the land of Canaan, to buy food. 

The Brothers Tell Who They Are. 

As Joseph saw them bowing down before 
him, he must have remembered the dream 
which he had dreamed as a boy, and how 
angry they were with him when he told them 
about it. He thought that they were all 
binding sheaves in the field, and that his 
sheaf stood upright, while theirs bowed down 
to his sheaf. Now the dream had come 
true. But Joseph still went on speaking 
roughly to them, and pretending not to know 
them. He said, You are spies ; you have 
come from our enemies, to see how poor the 
land is, and what harm you can do us. 

And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, 
but to buy food are your servants come. 
We are all the sons of one man ; we are true 



70 



I HE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



men : your servants are no spies. Joseph 
pretended not to believe them. He said, 
Nay, but you are come to see how poor and 
starved the land is. 

Then the ten brothers thought that if they 
were to tell this great lord who they were, 
he would be more likely to believe them. 
So they said, Your servants are twelve 
brethren, the sons of one man in the land of 
Canaan ; and, behold, the youngest is this 
day with our father, and one is not. 

And Joseph said unto them, Now I shall 
see whether you are spies, or if you are true 
men. By the life of Pharaoh you shall not 
go away from here, except your youngest 
brother come down. Send one of you, and 
let him fetch your brother ; and all the rest 
of you shall be kept in prison tiL he comes. 
By this I shall know whether you are speak- 
ing the truth, or whether you are spies. 

In Great Distress. 

When Joseph had said this, he ordered 
them all to be taken to prison ; and he kept 
them there for three days. 

On the third day, Joseph had his ten 
brothers brought before him, and he said to 
them, This is what you must do, and then 
you shall live ; for I fear God. If you are 
true men, then let one of your brethren be 
bound in the prison ; and all the rest may go 
back to your country, and carry corn for the 
famine of your houses. But bring your 
youngest brother unto me; so shall your 
words be proved to be true, and you shall 
not die. 

When the men heard this they were 
greatly distressed. They could not bear the 
thought of leaving one of their number behind, 
in an Egyptian prison, while they returned 
to Canaan ; and besides this, they doubted 
very much if they would be able to persuade 
their father to let them bring Benjamin down. 



And now, in their trouble and sorrow, they 
remembered again the wicked deed they had 
done, more than twenty years before, and 
they said one to another, We are indeed 
guilty about our brother Joseph, because we 
saw the anguish of his soul when he begged 
us to spare him; and we would not hear. 
It is because of what we did then that all this 
distress is come upon us now. 

And Reuben answered them, saying, Did 
I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin 
against the child ; and you would not hear ? 
And now God is punishing us for it. 

The brothers did not know that Joseph 
could understand them ; for they had been 
speaking in Hebrew, and he had been speak- 
ing to them in the language of Egypt, and 
had made a man, called an interpreter, 
explain to them what he had said. But 
when he heard their words — when he heard 
them speak in the familiar language of his 
dear old home — and when he found that 
they were sorry for their wickedness, his 
heart was so much touched that he could not 
keep back his tears. He turned away from 
them and wept. 

Money in the Sacks. 

He did not wish to make them unhappy, 
but he was determined to find out if Benjamin 
were safe. So presently he went back to 
them again, and talked with them a little. 
Then he took Simeon from them, and bound 
him before their eyes. 

Before the brothers set out on their home- 
ward way again, Joseph told some of his 
servants to fill their sacks with corn, and 
secretly to put back into each man's sa 
the money which each of them had brou 
to pay for the corn. He also gave he n 
plenty of food to eat while on their journey 
Thus did he unto them. Then the men put 
their sacks upon their asses, and departed. 



THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 



71 



It was with very heavy hearts that they 
journeyed back to Canaan again. They had 
bad news to take to their poor old father ; 
and they had already saddened his life so 
much, that it was a great distress to them to 
think that the tidings they would bring 
would cause him more sorrow. 

As they journeyed on they came to an 
inn, and there they stopped for a time to 
rest. And as one of them opened his sack, 
to his great surprise he saw his money there, 
for it was in the sack, lying on the top of the 
corn. He said to his brothers, My money 
is given back ; and, lo, it is even in my sack. 
And they were greatly afraid, saying one to 
another, What is this that God has done 
unto us ? 

At last they came unto Jacob their father 
in the land of Canaan, and told him all that 
had happened to them, saying, The man who 
is the lord of the land spoke very roughly to 
us, and took us for spies of the country 
And we said unto him, We are true men 
we are no spies. We be twelve brethren, 
sons of our father : one is not, and the 
youngest is this day with our father in the 
land of Canaan. 

And the man, the lord of the country, said 
unto us, This is the way that I shall know 
that you are true men : leave one of your 
brethren here with me, and take food for the 
famine of your households, and be gone ; and 



bring your youngest brother unto me : then 
I shall know that you are no spies, but that 
you are true men. So will I give your 
brother back to you again, and you shall 
buy and sell in the land. 

Jacob's Grief. 

These were very sad tidings for poor old 
Jacob. Simeon was a prisoner in Egypt; 
and he would not be set free till Benjamin 
should be sent down. When they had 
finished telling him everything they began to 
empty their sacks, and to put away the corn 
which was so scarce and so precious into 
some safe place. And, behold, every man's 
bundle of money was in his sack, and when 
they saw it, both they and their father were 
very much afraid. And Jacob their father 
said unto them, You have bereaved me of 
my children. Joseph is not, and Simeon is 
not, and you will take Benjamin away. All 
these things are against me. 

Then Reuben spake unto his father, saying, 
Kill my two sons, if I do not bring Benjamin 
back to you safely. Deliver him into my 
hands, and I will bring him back to you again. 

My son shall not go down with you, 
Jacob said ; for his brother is dead, and he 
is left alone. If mischief befall him by the 
way in which you go, then you will bring 
down my gray hairs with sorrow to the 
grave. 



CHAPTER VI. 



B. C. 1600. 

Joseph and his Brethren ;:; Egypt — The Feast in the Palace— Story of Benjamin— . 
The Cup in the Sack — The Plea of Judah — Joseph Makes Himself Known to his 
Brethren — Jacob v t curney to Egypt — A Home in a Far Country — The Blessing 
of Joseph's Twc onf —Jacob's Death and Burial — Last Days of Joseph. 




4E famine was still 
3 ore in the land of 
Canaan, as well as 
in Egypt and in 
many other coun- 
tries ; and with all 
their care, the corn 
that Joseph's broth- 
ers had brought out 
of Egypt could not 
last long. After a 
time it was all eaten 
up, and they were 
again in danger of 
starving unless they 
could go down to Egypt to buy more. But 
they knew it was useless to go unless they 
took Benjamin with them. At last their 
father Jacob said to them, Go again, buy us 
a little food. 

And Judah said to his father, The man did 
very solemnly declare to us that we should 
not see his face except our brother be with 
us. If you will send our brother with us, 
we will go down and buy food for you. But 
if you will not send him, we will not go 
down ; for the man said unto us, You shall 
not see my face except your brother be with 
you. 

So their father Israel said unto them, If it 
must be so now, do this. Take some of the 
best fruits of the land, and carry down a 
72 



present to the man. Take a little balm, and 
a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and 
almonds. And take double money in your 
hand : and the money that you found in your 
sacks, take it all back again ; perhaps it was 
by some mistake — some oversight— that it 
was returned. Take also your brother, and 
arise, go again unto the man. And God 
Almighty give you mercy before the man, 
that he may send away your other brother 
and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my 
children, I am bereaved. 

At last they were all ready to start. They 
took Benjamin, and kissed their father, and 
their wives and little children, and bidding 
them all good-bye, they went down into 
Egypt. 

Once again they stood before Joseph. 
They went, as before, to the place where he 
was selling the corn ; and when Joseph saw 
that Benjamin was with them, his heart went 
out in great love to his young brother, and 
he longed to put his arms round his neck. 
But he would not speak to any of them yet ; 
he wanted to prove his brothers still further. 
Besides, this was the time for serving out 
the corn to the people ; and as Joseph was 
always faithful in doing his duty, and attend- 
ing to his business, he still went on with his 
work, and would not leave off till noon, when 
he would go home to dinner. 

But Joseph spoke to his chief servant or 




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JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



7S 



steward, who managed his house, and said 
to him, Bring these men home, and make a 
feast for them ; for they shall dine with me 
to-day. And the steward did as Joseph 
commanded him, and he brought the men 
into Joseph's house. 

Do you think they were pleased at being 
taken into that grand house ? No ; they 
were very much afraid. When they remem- 
bered how roughly the lord of Egypt had 
spoken to them before, and when they 
remembered that their brother Simeon was 
still shut up in prison, they could not feel 
safe or at their ease. They said to each 
other, Because of the money that was 
returned in our sacks at the first time are we 
brought in here. It was put there on pur- 
pose, that the man might find an excuse for 
taking away our asses, and for making us 
his slaves. 

A Present for Joseph. 

They were so frightened and unhappy 
about it that they came near to the steward 
of Joseph's house, and talked with him at 
the door of the house. And the man said 
to Joseph's brothers, Peace be to you, fear 
not : your God, and the God cf your father, 
has given you treasure in your sacks : I had 
your money. 

Joseph came at last ; and when they saw 
him, they brought him the present which 
was in their hand into the house, and bowed 
themselves to him to the earth. And Joseph 
spoke kindly to them, and asked them how 
they were, and said, Is your father well, the 
old man of whom you spoke ? Is he yet 
alive ? 

And they answered, Your servant our 
father is in good health ; he is yet alive. 

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his 
brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, 
Is this your youngest brother of whom you 



told me? He could not refrain from bless- 
ing Benjamin, for he loved him so much. 
He said, God be gracious to you, my son. 

Joseph in Tears. 

When Joseph said that, he was obliged to 
hurry quickly out of the room. He wanted 
some quiet place where he could weep by 
himself without being seen ; so he entered 
into his chamber, and wept there. In a little 
while he went back to his brothers again. 
He made a great effort not to give way to 
tears any more, but to be cheerful ; and he 
ordered his servants to get the dinner ready. 
Set on bread, he said. 

So the servants spread the feast. Joseph 
sat at a table by himself, as he was always 
accustomed to do. And the Egyptians whc 
were with him sat at another table by them- 
selves ; for they would have thought it 
a dreadful thing to eat bread at the same 
table at which a Hebrew was sitting, even 
though he was the governor over all that 
land. 

At a third table Joseph's brothers were 
placed. Joseph made them all sit down in 
proper order before him. The first-born, 
Reuben, first ; then Simeon ; next to him 
Levi ; and all the others according to their 
ages ; and Benjamin last of all. The men 
wondered how it was that this lord of Egypt 
could tell about their ages. 

It was a happy party in that room that 
day. Joseph's brothers had lost all their 
fear of the ruler of the land, when they found 
how kind he was to them. And they 
enjoyed the feast too. For this was a time 
of grievous famine, and they had often of 
late not had even enough to eat ; and it had 
been a very long time since they had seen 
such plenty, and had sat down to such 
a feast as this. 

It is often the custom in Eastern countries 



74 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



for the giver of a feast to send some of the 
nicest dishes, which are before himself, to 
the guest whom he wishes most to honor, or 
of whom he is most fond ; and sometimes he 
chooses some dainty morsels out of the 
dishes to put upon his friend's plate. Just 
in this way Joseph sent nice things from his 
table to his brothers. But to Benjamin he 
sent five times as much as to any of the 
others. He showed plainly that Benjamin 
was his favorite. 

It did not at all displease the others that 
the lord of Egypt should like Benjamin best ; 
so they ate and drank, and were merry with 
him. As Joseph watched them he must- 
have seen that they were not jealous of 
Benjamin's larger portion, as they had been, 
years before, of his own coat of many colors. 

The Cup in the Sack. 

The day after that feast in Joseph's house 
the eleven brothers were to return home. 
But before they left, Joseph commanded his 
steward, who had the charge of his house, 
saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as 
much as they can carry; and put every 
man's money in his sack again. And put 
my cup — the silver cup out of which I 
always drink — in the sack of the youngest, 
and his corn money also. And the steward 
did everything exactly as he had been told. 

Can you guess why Joseph had ordered 
his silver cup to be put in Benjamin's sack ? 
He wanted to find out if the brothers would 
take Benjamin's part when they should see 
him in trouble and difficulty. He also 
wanted to see if their hearts were as hard and 
unfeeling towards his dear old father as they 
vvere when they sold him to the Ishmaelites. 

As soon as the morning was light the 
men were sent away laden with corn. No 
doubt they felt very thankful and happy at 
being on their homeward way again, with all 



their number complete — Simeon restored to 
them, and not one left behind this time. 

When they were gone out of the city, and 
were not yet far off, Joseph said to his stew- 
ard, Go quickly after the men, and when 
you have overtaken them, say unto them. 
Why have you returned evil for good? 
Why have you stolen my master's cup ? It 
is very wrong of you to have done this. 

So the steward ran after Joseph's brothers, 
and very soon came up with them. Then 
he spoke to them, just as Joseph had desired 
him to do. 

The Cup Found. 

The brothers were greatly distressed to 
think that Joseph could have supposed they 
would act so ungratefully and wickedly. 
They knew they were innocent, and so they 
said, Why does my lord say such words ? 
God forbid that your servants should do 
such a thing! You remember that when we 
found the money returned in our sacks we 
brought it again to you out of the land of 
Canaan ; so do you think we should steal 
out of your lord's house either silver or 
gold ? If you can find the silver cup with 
any one of us, then let that person die ; and 
all the rest of us will be slaves to my lord. 

And the steward answered, No, you shall 
not all be slaves ; only he with whom the 
cup is found shall be my servant. 

The brothers felt so sure that no cup 
would be found amongst their things, that 
as quickly as possible they untied their sacks 
and put them on the ground and opened 
them. And the steward began to search in 
every sack. He examined Reuben's first, 
and all the others afterwards in regular 
order ; till last of all he looked in Benjamin's 
sack, and there the cup was found. 

It was a terrible shock to all the brothers — 
a bitter sorrow and surprise. They tore 



76 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



their clothes in sign of great sorrow, and 
returned to the city. 

And Joseph said unto them, What thing 
is this that you have done ? Did you not 
know that I should be certain to find out 
your wickedness ? 

Then Judah spoke. It was he who had 
promised his father to take care of Benjamin, 
and to bring him back safely or else to bear 
the blame for ever. So now he sorrowfully 
answered, What shall we say unto my lord ? 
what shall we speak ? or how shall we clear 
ourselves ? God has found out the iniquity 
of your servants. He is punishing us for 
our sins. Behold, we have come back to be 
your slaves, both we, and he also with whom 
the cup is found. 

And Joseph said, God forbid that I should 
do so : but the man in whose sack the cup 
was found, he shall be my servant ; and as 
for you, go back in peace unto your father. 

Then Judah said, Now therefore, I pray 
you, let me remain here and be a bondman 
to my lord, instead of the lad ; and let the 
lad go home again with his brothers. For 
how could I go up to my father if the lad be 
not with me? I could not bear to see his 
great sorrow, for I think he would die of grief. 

Joseph Tells Who He Is. 

At Judah's words Joseph could no longer 
refrain himself before all those who stood by 
him, for many people were in the room 
besides Joseph's brothers. He cried out, Let 
every one go out of the room. 

So all the Egyptians left the room, and no 
one was there when Joseph made himself 
known to his brethren. He had yearned 
over them with exceeding tenderness even 
while he was appearing to treat them harshly, 
yet it was but to try whether they were 
really sorry for the sins of former years. 

Joseph could not keep back his tears when 



he made himself known to his brethren. 
He wept aloud — so loud that all the Egypt- 
ians who were in the house heard him. 
And Joseph said to his brothers, I am 
Joseph ; does my father yet live ? And his 
brethren could not answer him, for they were 
terrified at his presence. 

He saw how much afraid they were, and 
that because of their great surprise and fear 
they had not a word to say ; so he spoke to 
them most lovingly. Come near to me, I 
pray you, he said. And they came near. 
Then he said to them, I am Joseph your 
brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now 
therefore be not grieved nor angry with 
yourselves that you sold me ; for it was 
God's doing. He sent me before you to 
preserve life, that people should not die of 
starvation. For these two years has the 
famine been in the land, and yet there are 
five more years to come, during which there 
shall be no ploughing nor harvest, for no 
corn will grow. And God sent me before 
you to save food, that your lives might be 
saved by a great deliverance. 

Jacob Receives Good News, 

Make haste, and go up to my father, and 
say unto him, Thus says your son Joseph, 
God has made me lord of all Egypt : come 
down unto me, do not delay. And you shall 
dwell in the land of Goshen ; and you shall 
be near unto me, you and your children, and 
your children's children, and your flocks and 
your herds, and all that you have. And I 
will take care of you there, and will feed you, 
lest you and your household and all that 
you have become very poor, for there are 
yet five years more of famine. 

Once more the sons of Jacob are on their 
way from the land of Egypt to return to 
their father's house. A strange joy and 
thankfulness are in their hearts ; for Joseph 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



77 



is not dead nor pining away in cruel slavery, 
and they have glad tidings to take back to 
their patient, sorrowful father. We may be 
sure they made all the haste they could, and 
journeyed as fast as they were able to go, 
till they came into the land of Canaan, and 
reached their father's house. Then they 



Tnen they told him all the words of 
Joseph, and gave him all the loving messages 
he had sent. And when Jacob saw the 
wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, 
the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And 
he said, It is enough — I believe it now; 
Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and 




JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. 



said to him, Joseph is yet alive, and he is 
governor over all the land of Egypt. 

And the heart of Jacob fainted. The 
sudden news brought him no comfort, but 
only revived again more keenly the memory 
of his great loss ; for he did not believe what 
his sons said. It seemed too good to be true. 



see him before I die. He and his sons 
made every preparation for their departure 
as quickly as possible, and then, taking 
everything that belonged to them, they left 
the vale of Hebron, where they had lived 
for so many years. 

They had not gone very far when they 



78 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



came to Beer-sheba, which was on their way 
to Egypt. Here it was that Jacob's father 
and mother, Isaac and Rebekah, had lived 
so long ; and Israel rested here that night, 
and offered sacrifice unto the God of his 
father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in 
the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, 
Jacob. And he answered, Here am I. 

And he said, I am God, the God of your 
father. Fear not to go down into Egypt ; 
for I will there make of you a great nation. 
I will go down with you into Egypt ; and I 
will also surely bring you up again. And 
Joseph shall put his hands upon your eyes. 

Then Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba. 
And the sons of Israel carried Jacob their 
father, and their little ones, and their wives, 
in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to 
carry them. And they took their cattle and 
their goods which they had gotten in the 
land of Canaan, and came into Egypt ; Jacob, 
and all his family with him. It was a large 
party — nearly seventy persons — for there 
were his sons, and his sons' sons with him, 
and his daughters, and his sons' daughters, 
and all his household. So they came at last 
into Egypt. 

Joseph Hastens to Meet his Father. 

Goshen was the name of the place to 
which they had come, and where Joseph had 
said that their home was to be. As soon, 
therefore, as they had arrived, Jacob sent 
Judah to Joseph to tell him they were come. 

As soon as Joseph heard the good news, 
he ordered his chariot to be got ready at 
once ; for he was in great haste to see his 
dear old father. It was not long before 
Joseph reached the land of Goshen where 
his father was, and presented himself before 
him. And Joseph fell on his fathers neck 
and kissed him, and he wept on his neck a 
good while. 



And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me 
die, since I have seen your face. I am con- 
tent not to live any longer, because you are 
yet alive. 

Now Joseph had to be very careful not to 
make the Egyptians jealous or angry, by his 
bringing down such a large number of his 
family into their famine-stricken country. 
He knew the king would welcome them ; but 
he feared the people might not be pleased. 
So Joseph said unto his brethren, and to all 
his father's house, I will go to Pharaoh, and 
will speak unto him and say, My brethren 
and my father's house, which were in the 
land of Canaan, are come unto me. And 
the men are shepherds, for it has always 
been their business to take care of cattle ; 
and they have brought their flocks and their 
herds, and all that they have. 

Then Joseph explained to his brothers that 
the Egyptians did not like shepherds at all. 
They were partly afraid of them for one 
reason ; for some warlike shepherds had 
once come into their country, and had fought 
against them, and burned their cities, killing 
the men, and taking the women and children 
to be slaves. Besides this, the Egyptians 
had a great dislike to and contempt for 
people who lived in tents, and who led a 
wandering life. For most of the shepherds 
in that part of the world were obliged to 
wander about from place to place, to find 
pasture-land enough to feed their cattle. 

Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob. 

And Joseph said to his brethren, Pharaoh 
is sure to call for you ; and it shall come to 
pass when he shall ask, What is your occu- 
pation? that you shall say, Your servants' 
trade has been about cattle, from our 
youth even until now, both we and also 
our fathers. Then he will let you dwell 
in the land of Goshen : for every shepherd 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



7& 



is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 
After this, Joseph brought in Jacob, his 
father, and set him before Pharaoh. And 
now, when Israel, halting upon his thigh 
(or walking lame, as we say), was brought 
into the king's presence, he lifted up his 
hands and blessed the king; for he could 
not forget what great kindness his darling 
son had received at his hands. 

They Settle in Goshsn. 

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old 
are you ? And Jacob answered and said 
unto the king, The days of the years of my 
pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. 
Few and evil have the days of the years 
of my life been. I have had much trouble 
and sorrow, and I have not lived as long as 
my fathers have done ; they were much 
older than I am when they ended the years 
of their pilgrimage. 

When Jacob had spoken to the king, and 
told him in those few sad words how full of 
trial and grief his life had been, he blessed 
Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 

And Joseph placed his father and his 
brethren, and gave them a possession in the 
land of Egypt, in the best of the land, even 
in Goshen, as Pharaoh had commanded. 
And Joseph took care of his father, and his 
brethren, and all his father's household ; and 
he gave them bread enough for all their 
families, and for their little ones. 

Many years passed away, and Jacob was 
still living peacefully in the midst of his 
family in the land of Goshen. And God 
blessed him and his sons, so they had great 
riches ; and they grew and increased in 
number exceedingly. And Jacob lived in 
Goshen, in the land of Egypt, seventeen years. 

But the time was drawing very near now 
when he must die. He felt that he had not 
long to live, and he was quite ready for his 



pilgrimage to end ; but he could not beat 
the thought of being buried in Egypt. 
Canaan, the land of promise, was very dear 
to him ; and there it was he wished his body 
to lie. 

So he sent for his son Joseph, and said to 
him, If now I have found grace in your sight, 
make me a solemn promise, I pray you, and 
deal kindly and truly with me. Bury me 
not, I pray you, in Egypt ; but I will lie with 
my fathers in the cave of Machpelah in the 
land of Canaan ; and you shall carry me out 
of Egypt, and shall bury me in their burying- 
place. 

And Joseph answered, I will do as you 
have said. Soon after this Jacob became 
very ill ; and some one told Joseph, sayings 
Behold, your father is sick. 

Joseph's Two Sons. 

When Joseph heard this he took his two 
sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and left his 
home at once to go to his father in Goshen. 
Then they told Jacob, saying, Behold, your 
son Joseph is come to see you. 

Now the eyes of Jacob were dim for age, 
so that he could not see ; but he knew that 
others were in the room with him besides 
Joseph. Perhaps he had remarked the sound 
of strange footsteps when Ephraim and 
Manasseh came in with their father, for Jacob 
asked, Who are these ? 

And Joseph said unto his father, They are 
my two sons, whom God has given me in 
this place. 

And Jacob said, Bring them, I pray you, 
unto me, and I will bless them. 

And Joseph brought them near to his 
father, who kissed them and embraced them, 
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not 
thought to see your face again ; and, lo, God 
has shown me your children also. 

Then Joseph took away his sons from 



80 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



their dying grandfather's loving embrace, 
and he bowed himself before his father, with 
his face to the earth. 

But now the blessing was to be given, and 
Israel was to lay his hands upon the heads 
of the two lads. So Joseph took them both, 
and placed them before his father in such a 
manner that Jacob's right hand might rest 
on the head of Manasseh, and his left on the 
head of Ephraim ; for he wished the best 
blessing to be for Manasseh, his first-born. 

His Hands Were Crossed. 

Though Jacob could not see, yet he knew 
what Joseph had done. He did not do, how- 
ever, as Joseph wished ; for he crossed his 
hands, and placed his right hand on the 
head of Ephraim, the younger son, and his 
left hand on Manasseh 's head. 

And he blessed them, and said, God, 
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac 
did walk, the God which fed me all my life 
long unto this day, the Angel who redeemed 
me from all evil, bless the lads ; and let 
them grow into a multitude in the midst of 
the earth. 

When Joseph saw that his father laid his 
right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it 
displeased him, and he held up his father's 
hand to remove it from Ephraim 's head unto 
Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his 
father, Not so, my father, for this is the first- 
born ; put your right hand upon his head. 

But his father refused, and said, I know it, 
my son, I know it. Manasseh also shall 
become a people, and he also shall be great ; 
but truly his younger brother shall be 
greater than he, and his family shall become 
a multitude of nations. 

Thus Israel blessed the two sons of Joseph 
that day ; and he said to them, In the time 
to come, when people shall give a blessing 
to those to whom they wish well, they shall 



say, God make you as Ephraim and Man- 
asseh ; for you shall be rich and prosperous. 

Jacob's Dying "Words. 

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I 
die ; but God shall be with you, and shall 
bring you again into the land of your fathers. 

And Jacob called his sons unto him, and 
said, Gather yourselves together, even all of 
you, that I may tell you that which shall 
happen to you in the last days. Gather 
yourselves together, and hear, you sons of 
Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father. 

So Jacob's twelve sons came as he desired 
them to do, and gathered round his bed to 
hear his dying words. 

He spoke of each of his sons, beginning 
with Reuben his first-born: and they all 
stood silently round him, listening very 
intently to his last words. He spoke of their 
faults too. He said that Reuben had lost 
the right of the eldest born, because he had 
been very wicked, and because his character 
was weak and uncertain. He strongly 
blamed Simeon and Levi for their cruelty in 
Shechem, and said that their families should 
suffer for that evil act, and should not be as 
strong and great as they otherwise would 
have been, but that they should be divided 
and scattered. 

But of Judah he prophesied great things. 
He said, Judah, you are he whom your 
brethren shall praise. There was much that 
was very noble in the character of Judah, as 
we have seen ; and Jacob said that he should 
be a great chief among his brethren, and that 
his father's children should bow down before 
him. Moreover, it was of the family of 
Judah that the Saviour of the world, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, should be born ; so his 
tribe was honored far beyond all others. 

And to Joseph, or rather to his two sons, 
was given the birthright that Reuben had 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



81 



lost by his sinful folly. For Jacob had said, 
Your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are 
mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be 
mine. 

To each of his twelve sons, by turn, Jacob 
told what should befall him in the far-off 
years. And after he had done that, he 



Abraham bought for a possession of a burial- 
place. There they buried Abraham and 
Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and 
Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah. 
And when Jacob had made an end of 
commanding his sons — when he had ex- 
plained to them all that he wanted them to 




THE SONS OF JACOB BURYING THEIR FATHER 



blessed them all ; every one according to his 
blessing he blessed them. 

And he charged them, and said unto them, 
I am going to die : Bury me with my fathers 
in the cave which is in the field of Ephron 
the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of 
Machpelah, in the land of Canaan, which 
6 



do — he gathered up his feet into the bed, 
and died. 

Then Joseph fell upon his father's face, 
and wept upon him, and kissed him. And 
Joseph commanded his servants the physi- 
cians to embalm his father's body. 

The Egyptians had a way of preserving 



82 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



bodies from decay. They used certain drugs 
and gums and spices, and used them so 
skillfully that to this day there are Egyptian 
mummies to be seen which are more than 
three thousand years old. An embalmed 
body is called a mummy. 

So the physicians, whose special duty it 
was to attend to this work, embalmed the 
dead body of the aged Israel. And his sons, 
and the Egyptians also, mourned for him 
seventy days. 

But Joseph had not forgotten the promise 
he had made to his dear old father. He had 
not forgotten how eagerly he had desired to 
be buried in the cave of Machpelah ; and 
Joseph was very anxious to carry out his 
wishes as soon as possible, yet he would not 
go without the king's permission. 

The King Allows Him to Go. 

So when the seventy days were past 
Joseph spoke unto the house of Pharaoh 
(that means to the king's family, or to the 
chief persons in his household), saying, If 
now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, 
I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 
My father made me make him a very solemn 
promise ; for he said to me, Lo, I die : in 
my grave which I have digged for myself in 
the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me. 
Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and 
bury my father, and I will come back again. 

And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury your 
father, according as he made you swear. 

Why did not Joseph speak directly to the 
king himself, as he had always done before ? 
Why did he now, for the first time, make his 
request to Pharaoh through some of the 
king's family? 

This was the reason. Joseph was accus- 
tomed to dress and to wear his hair in the 
same way that the Egyptians did. They 
always shaved off the beard and all the hair 



that grew on their faces. But when they 
were in mourning for a relative, they were 
obliged to let the hair grow on their faces 
again ; for they were not allowed to shave 
then. Now it was not considered respectful 
or proper for the Egyptians to appear before 
their king unshaved ; so Joseph would not 
venture before him till all the mourning was 
ended, and till he might shave the hair off 
his face as before. 

As soon as Pharaoh had given Joseph 
leave to go, he went up to bury his father. 
And with him went up all the servants of 
Pharaoh, the elders (or chief persons) of his 
house, and all the elders of the land of 
Egypt. All the house of Joseph went too, 
and all his brethren, and his father's house ; 
only their little ones, and their flocks and 
their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. 
And there went up with Joseph both char- 
iots and horsemen — an armed guard to 
watch over them in case they should meet 
with dangers on the road — and it was a very 
great company. 

The Funeral March to Canaan. 

There were Egyptian warriors, officers of 
the king, gentlemen of the court, and men 
of the highest rank in the land of Egypt, all 
doing honor to the memory of Jacob by 
accompanying his sons and grandsons on 
their funeral march to Canaan. 

They came at last to the promised land, 
and there they mourned with a great and 
very sore lamentation. For seven days they 
mourned and wept, because the great shep- 
herd chief was dead. And the people of 
Canaan looked on in wonder. Seventeen 
years before, they had seen Jacob setting off 
in Egyptian wagons, with all his sons, and 
all his possessions, to go and live in the land 
of Goshen ; now his dead body was brought 
back with much love, and great honor, to be 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



83 



buried with his father and his grandfather. 
Then the sons of Israel buried their father 
in the land of Canaan, as he had commanded 
them. When this solemn duty was done, 
Joseph returned into Egypt, he and his 
brethren, and all those who went up with 
him to bury his father. But Joseph's broth- 
ers were not at ease. They were afraid, now 
their father was dead, that Joseph would 



your brethren, and their sin ; for they did 
unto you evil. And now, we pray you, for- 
give the sin of the servants of the God of 
your father. 

When Joseph heard this message he wept. 
His heart was so true, and so tender and 
loving, that he could not understand how it 
was that his brothers did not believe in his 
complete forgiveness. And his brothers 




EMBALMING THE 

revenge himself upon them for all their 
cruelty and unkindness to him when he was 
a boy. 

They said, Joseph will hate us, and he will 
certainly punish us for all the evil which we 
did unto him. 

So they sent a messenger unto Joseph, 
saying, Your father did command us before 
he died, saying, So shall you say unto Joseph, 
Forgive, I pray you now, the trespass of 



BODY OF JOSEPH. 

went to him, and fell down before his face ; 
and they said, Behold, we are your servants. 
And Joseph said unto them, Fear not; 
for am I in the place of God ? He meant to 
say, Do not be afraid of me ; only fear God. 
But as for you, though you thought to do 
me evil, God meant it for good, that many 
people might be saved alive during that time 
of famine. Now therefore fear you not ; I 
will take care of you and of your little ones. 



84 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 



And he comforted them, and spoke kindly 
to them. 

And Joseph lived in Egypt, he and all his 
father's house. And God blessed him there, 
and prospered him, and he saw his grand- 
children and great-grandchildren growing up 
around him. But when he was a hundred 
and ten years old, he said unto his brothers, 
I am dying ; and God will surely visit you, 
and bring you out of th \ "and into the land 
which he promised to Ab 1 aham, to Isaac, 
and to Jacob. 

Joseph Buried in Canaan. 

And Joseph made the children of Israel 
promise that when the time should come for 
them to leave Egypt and return to Canaan, 
they should not forget to take his dead body 
with them, and to bury him in the promised 
land. 

God will surely visit you, he said, and you 
shall carry up my bones from here. So 
Joseph died. And they embalmed him and 
put him in a coffin in Egypt. 

But they did not bury him there. Faith- 
ful to their promise, they waited till they 
should leave the country where they had 
already lived so long. 



They little knew how long it would be* 
before they should see the beautiful land of 
Canaan. They little thought that bitter 
sorrow and trouble and slavery were before 
them, and that the Egyptian people, who 
were now so kind, would most cruelly 
oppress them. 

But God was very good to them. He 
never for one moment forgot them, neither 
did he forget his promises to Abraham, Isaac,, 
and Jacob. When the right time had come, 
he took them out of the hands of those who 
were so cruelly ill-using them, and brought 
them out of the land of Egypt with a strong 
arm. 

The account of the journeyings of the 
children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan is 
a very strange and wonderful story. 

When at last, several hundred years after 
Joseph died, the children of Israel reached 
the land of Canaan, they buried him in 
Shechem, in that parcel of ground which 
Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of 
silver, and which he afterwards gave to 
Joseph as the one portion more than his 
brothers had received. So the last wish of 
Joseph was fulfilled, that he should be buried 
in the land of Canaan. 



CHAPTER VII. 



B. C. 1571. 



The Story of Moses — The Little Lifeboat — Adoftel Child of Pharaoh's Daughter 

— Cruel Treatment of the Israelites in Egypt — Moses Slays an Egyptian — At 
the Burning Bush — Aaron's Rod Becomes a Serpent — The Ten Plagues— -The 
First-born of the Egyptians Slain — Feast of the Passover — The Hebrews Pass 
through the Red Sea— Pharaoh and his Host Drowned — The Song of Triumph. 




HEN Joseph 
and all his 
brothers were 
dead, and Pha- 
raoh and all the 
Egyptians who 
had known 
them were dead 
too, then a new 
king ruled over Egypt. He was also called 
Pharaoh, for that was a name given to all 
the kings of Egypt beside their own names. 
This Pharaoh forgot the good that Joseph 
had done for the Egyptians, and he did not 
like to see the families of the children of 
Israel becoming so large, and living in the 
best part of Egypt. 

When Jacob came from Canaan with his 
sons, and their wives, and their children, 
there were seventy people altogether. Now 
there were thousands and thousands — the 
families had grown so many and so large. 

Pharaoh was jealous of them. He said, 
I cannot have so many of these Hebrews, 
or Israelites, in the land. So he set them to 
very hard work, and treated them most 
cruelly, for he thought this would make 
them weak, and then they would die. 

But he could not destroy the people in 
this way, so he tried another plan. He told 



the nurses who went to help the mothers to 
take care of their little children, to throw all 
the boy-babies into the river Nile as soon as 
they were born. The nurses did not obey 
this wicked law, but saved all the babies 
alive that they could. 

At this time there lived a good man and 
his wife, who had one daughter named Miriam, 
and a little boy three years old, named Aaron. 
He was born before the king made this cruel 
law. Then another child was born; it was 
a little boy. He was such a beautiful baby 
that the mother said, I cannot throw him 
into the river. 

Hiding the Little Boy. 

For three months she took great pains to 
hide him, so that the Egyptians should not 
know that she had a little child. At the end 
of that time she could hide him no longer, 
for he was bigger and cried louder; and she 
was sadly afraid that he would be discovered. 

What can I do? she said. Must my little 
babe be thrown into the river ? She soon 
thought what she would do. 

There grew upon the banks of the river 
Nile a large reed or rush called papyrus. 
This was useful in many ways. A kind of 
paper was made from it ; our word paper comes 
from papyrus. It was also used for making 
such things as we make of wicker-work. 

85 



86 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



The mother thought, I will make a cradle- 
boat for my baby to lie in when I put him 
into the river. So she took the leaves of the 
papyrus, and plaited them into a cradle. 

When this little ark or boat was made, she 
covered it all over on the outside with a kind 
of pitch, so as to keep the water out. Very 



to the river, and placed it among the tali 
rushes which grew on its banks. She dared 
not stop to watch it herself, but she told he* 
daughter Miriam to stay near the place, and 
see what became of it. 

Soon Miriam saw a lady and her maids 
coming along. She was a princess, the 




PHARAOH S DAUGHTER FINDING MOSES. 



likely the mother filled the inside with some- 
thing soft, and made it as comfortable as she 
could. 

The mother with many tears and prayers 
lifted the child from her bosom, and laid him 
in this strange cradle. Then she carried it 



daughter of Pharaoh the king. As she 
passed by the river-side, the lady saw some- 
thing like a tiny boat among the rushes. 
She told one of her maids to draw it out 
and bring it to her. 

When she opened it, she saw in it ? lovely 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



87 



babe. As she and her maid looked, the | one; she knew that it was one of the Hebrew 
rAild cried. No wonder ! for all the faces I children that had been put there, so that it 




MOSES BROUGHT BEFORE PHARAOH S DAUGHTER. 



were strange to him, and it was his mother's 
face that he wanted to see when he awoke. 
The princess was sorry for the poor little 



might not be killed according to her father's 
order. This beautiful boy shall be my child, 
she said; I will take care of him. 



88 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



Just then Miriam came up to the princess ; 
she did not tell her that she was the baby's 
sister, but she asked, Shall I go and call you 
a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may 
take care of the child for you ? The princess 
Void her to go. 



ians did see the babe, for they would not 
harm him. He was to be treated, not as a 
Hebrew child, but as a young prince; he 
was to be like a son to Pharaoh's daughter. 
When he was old enough, his mother 
brought him to the princess, and she called 




THE ISRAELITES MADE TO WORK HARD IN EGYPT. 



So Miriam went and called the child's 
mother. When she came, Pharaoh's daughter 
said, Take this child, and nurse it for me; 
and I will pay you for your trouble. So the 
mother took the baby home with her. 

Now, she need not be afraid if the Egypt- 



his name Moses, because she said, I drew 
him out of the water. The word Moses 
means " drawn out." 

Moses lived at the court of Pharaoh until 
he was forty years old. He was taught in 
all the learning of the Egyptians, as if he 




PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER FINDING MOSES 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



were indeed the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
and riches and honors were given him. 

And now came the time when he must 
choose between two things, whether he 
would suffer affliction with his own people 
or enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. 
For if he still dwelt in the king's court, he 
must needs do as they of the court were 
wont to do, following evil ways, and bowing 



89 

king. One day he went to look at them, as 
they were working in the hot sun, bending 
under their heavy burdens. There was a 
poor man who had such a great weight to 
carry that he could not move fast; so the 
Egyptian taskmaster, who was put over these 
men to make the work, hit him hard. 

This cruel deed vexed Moses. And he 
looked this way and that way, and when 




MOSES SLAYING 

down to false gods. And because he had 
faith, believing in the things that were unseen, 
he chose the hard lot of the people of God 
rather than all the riches and honors that 
would have come in due course to the son 
of Pharaoh's daughter. 

But Moses did not forget his brethren the 
Israelites, who had to make bricks, and build 
cities, and work very hard indeed for the 



THE EGYPTIAN. 

he saw that there was no man, he slew the 
Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And 
when he went out the second day, behold, 
two men of the Hebrews strove together 
and he said to him that did wrong, Where- 
fore smitest thou thy neighbor? And he said 
Who made thee a prince and a judge over 
us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou 
killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared 



90 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



and said, Surely this thing is known. Now 
when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought 
to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the 
face of Pharaoh into the land of Midian and 
sat down by a well. Now, the priest of 
Midian had seven daughters, and they came 
and drew water, and filled the troughs to 
water their father's flock. And the shepherds 



daughters, Where is he? Why is it, that ye 
have left the man? Call him, that he may 
eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell 
with the man, and he gave Moses, Zipporah 
his daughter, to be his wife. 

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his 
father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and on 
a certain occasion he drove his flock into the 




MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH. 



came and drove them away, but Moses stood 
lip and helped them and watered their flock. 
And when they came to Reuel, their father, 
he said, How is it, that ye are come so soon 
to-day? And they said, An Egyptian deliv- 
ered us out of the hand of the shepherds, 
and also drew water enough for us and 
watered our flock. And he said unto his 



inner part of the desert, and came to the 
mountain of God on his way towards Horeb, 
And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto 
him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a 
bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush 
burned with fire, but was not consumed. 
And Moses said, I will go and see this great 
sight, why the bush is not burnt. 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



91 



And when the Lord saw that he went for- 
ward, He called to him out of the midst of 
the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he 
answered, Here I am. And he said, Come 
not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from thy 
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is 
holy ground ; I am the God of thy father, 
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and 
the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, 
for he was afraid to look upon God. 

And the Lord said to him, I have surely 
seen the affliction of my people in Egypt 
and I have heard their cry by reason of their 
taskmasters ; for I know their sorrows. And 
I am come down to deliver them out of the 
hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them 
out of that land into a good and large land, 
into a land flowing with milk and honey. 
Come now therefore, and I will send thee to 
Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my 
people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. 

The Rod Becomes a Serpent. 

But Moses said unto God, Who am I, that 
I should go to Pharaoh? And that I should 
bring forth the children of Israel out of 
Egypt? God answered, Certainly I will be 
with thee, and thus shalt thou say to the 
children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your 
fathers, hath sent me unto you. 

But Moses answered and said, Behold, 
they will not believe me, nor hearken unto 
my voice, for they will say, The Lord hath 
not appeared to thee. And the Lord said 
to him, What is that in thy hand? And he 
said, A rod. And the Lord said, Cast it on 
the ground. And he cast it on the ground 
and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from 
it. And the Lord said, Put forth thine hand 
and take it by the tail. And he put forth 
his hand and caught it, and it was turned 
into a rod again, That they may believe, 
saith he, that the God of their fathers, the 



God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob 
hath appeared unto thee. 

And further the Lord said to him, Put 
now thine hand into thy bosom. And he 
put his hand into his bosom; and when he 
took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as 
snow. And the Lord said, Put thine hand 
into thy bosom again. And he put his hand 
into his bosom again, and, behold, it was 
turned again as his other flesh, 

And the Lord said again, If they will not 
believe these two signs nor hearken to thy 
voice, then take water of the river, and pour 
it upon the dry land and it shall become 
blood. 

And Moses said unto the Lord, O my 
Lord, I am not eloquent, I am slow of speech 
and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said 
to him,Who hath made man's mouth, or who 
maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or 
the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now 
therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth 
and teach thee what thou shalt say. 

In Egypt Again. 

Moses however entreated, and God 
appointed his brother Aaron to be his 
spokesman. Then Moses took his wife 
and his sons and returned to the land 
of Egypt, for God had told him to return 
and that all the men were dead who sought 
his life. And the Lord said to Aaron, Go 
into the wilderness to meet Moses. And 
he went and met him in the mount of God 
and kissed him. 

And Moses told Aaron all the words of 
the Lord, who had sent him, and all the 
signs which He had commanded him. And 
Moses and Aaron went, and gathered 
together all the elders of the children 
of Israel. And Aaron spake all the words 
which the Lord had spoken, and Moses 
did the signs in the sight of the people. 



92 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



And the people believed; and when they 
heard that the Lord had visited the children 
of Israel, and that he had looked upon their 
affliction, then they bowed their heads and 
worshipped. 

After Moses and Aaron had told the Israel- 
ites that God would deliver them from the 
Egyptians, they went to Pharaoh, and said, 
The Lord God of Israel saith to you, Let 



had their own God, but as he did not own 
him as the true God, he would not obey his 
wishes. He found the work that the Israel- 
ites did so valuable, that he was not willing 
to part with them. 

He was quite as cruel as that King Phar- 
aoh who ordered all the little boy-babies to 
be thrown into the river. He made the 
Israelites to work harder than ever, for he 




AARON S ROD CHANGED TO A SERPENT. 



my people go that they may serve me. Then 
Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should 
obey his voice, to let Israel go ? I know 
not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. 

Pharaoh, you see, neither knew nor cared 
anything about the true God ; but he, as well 
as all his people, worshipped many animals — 
such as bulls, serpents, and crocodiles. As 
the Egyptians had their false gods that they 
worshipped, so he thought that the Israelites 



said it was because they were idle that they 
wanted to go away. 

He told the taskmasters not to give them 
any straw to make their bricks, as they used 
to do ; but to let them go and get the straw 
for themselves, and they were to make just 
as many bricks every day as they had done 
before they had to find the straw. 

So the poor people went looking about for 
straw, and the taskmasters said to them. 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



93 



^Come, make haste ; finish your daily tasks ! 
But they could not finish them ; so the task- 
masters beat them. 

When they complained to Pharaoh, he 
only said, You are idle, you are idle ! God, 
however, saw their trouble and sorrow, and 
heard their groaning. 

He said to Moses and Aaron, Go again to 
Pharaoh, and take your rod with you. 
Throw it down before the king, and it shall 
become a serpent. Then Moses and Aaron 
did so. 

When Pharaoh saw the rod changed into 
a serpent, he said, My wise men can do the 
same. He called them, and they threw 
down their rods, and they became serpents 
too ; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. 

Story of the Plagues. 

The next day Moses and Aaron went to 
Pharaoh, and said, The Lord God of the 
Hebrews says, that if you will not let his 
people go, he will send terrible plagues over 
your land. 

Pharaoh did not heed ; so God sent the 
first terrible trouble, or plague, upon Egypt. 
God said to Moses, Tell Aaron to stretch 
his rod over the river Nile, and over all the 
streams and ponds, and the water shall be 
changed into blood. 

Ard Aaron did so ; and all the waters 
were turned into blood, and all the fishes in 
the river died ; and instead of water there 
was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 
This plague lasted seven days. At the end 
of that time, God said that he would bring 
another plague upon the land of Egypt, if 
Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go. 

Pharaoh did not heed ; so God told Moses 
to say to Aaron, Stretch forth your rod over 
the rivers, the streams, and the ponds, and 
cause frogs to come up out of them, and 
cover the land. This was the second plague. 



When Aaron did so, the frogs came up 
and went everywhere. All places were lull 
of them : not only out-of-doors, but in-doors 
too. They were even in their bedrooms and 
their beds, in their ovens, and in places where 
they kept their food. 

This was so unpleasant, that Pharaoh said 
to Moses and Aaron, Pray to your God to 
take away the frogs, and I will let your 
people go. So they asked God to take away 
the frogs and God made them die out of all 
the houses and the fields ; and the Egyptians 
put them together in heaps. 

Lice and Flies. 

When this trouble was over, Pharaoh 
would not keep his promise to let the Israel- 
ites go, so God sent the third plague. Aaron 
stretched out his rod over the dust of the 
land, and it became lice. These creeping 
insects came upon all the Egyptians, and 
upon their beasts too. Still, Pharaoh was 
not sorry. 

Then God sent a fourth plague — a griev- 
ous swarm of flies, so that the whole land 
was corrupted because of them Pharaoh 
now said to Moses and Aaron, Ask God to 
take away the flies, and I will let the people 
go for a little way into the wilderness, to wor- 
ship God. 

And Moses prayed to God, and God took 
away the flies ; but neither at this time also 
would Pharaoh let the people go. 

Then God sent the fifth plague, which was 
a murrain, or fearful disease among the cattU-, 
so that a great many horses, and asses, and 
camels, and oxen, and sheep died. But onh 
those belonging to the Egyptians died. Goc 
took care of the cattle of the Israelites, and 
they did not lose one. 

Still Pharaoh heeded not, so God sent the 
sixth plague. This was very sore pimples 
or boils, which came upon man and beast* 



94 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



and which caused great burning pain. Even 
after this Pharaoh still was self-willed, 
and would not obey God's command. So 
God sent Moses and Aaron to tell him 
that the next day he would send a dreadful 
tempest of thunder and lightning, and hail, 
and rain. So fetch in all your servants and 
cattle out of the fields, lest the hail kill them. 
Then those Egyptians who feared God 
brought their servants and cattle in ; but 
those who did not care for what God said, 
left them to stay out in the fields. 

A Frightful Hail-storm. 

The next morning, God sent a terrible hail- 
storm. This was the seventh plague. It 
thundered very loud and long, and the 
lightning was like fire running along the 
ground. It was an awful sight, and the large 
stones of hail knocked down and killed all 
the men and beasts who were in the fields. 
The trees were bent, and many were broken 
in this fearful storm, and the barley, and the 
flax, and many green herbs besides, were 
torn to pieces by its fury. But there was no 
storm in the land of Goshen. 

Pharaoh was frightened at the loud long 
thunderings, and at the fierce lightning, so 
seldom heard and seen in Egypt ; and he 
said to Moses, Pray to God for me, it is 
enough, for I will let you go and ye shall 
stay no longer. And Moses did so, but 
when Pharaoh saw that the danger was 
passed, that it thundered no more, and that 
the hail ceased, then he said, I will not let 
the people go. 

Ground Covered with Locusts. 

Now God sent the eighth plague. He 
made a strong east wind blow, which brought 
locusts in such large numbers that no one 
could see the ground, it was so covered by 
them. This was a dreadful plague. 



A locust is an insect something like a 
grasshopper, only very much larger. These 
insects soon eat up all that is green. They 
will come in large flocks, hiding the light of 
the sun like a thick cloud, as they fly along. 
When the locusts settle, they very soon eat 
up every blade of grass, all the leaves and 
young shoots off the trees, and everything 
else in the way of fruits and vegetables. 
When they fly away again, the country looks 
brown, as if it was burnt with fire ; for all the 
grass is eaten, and the trees look bare as 
they do in winter, for every leaf is gone. 

Now God sent to the Egyptians these 
locusts, larger than they had ever seen before, 
and in such vast numbers too that the whole 
ground looked dark with them. They soon 
ate up everything that the hail had left, all 
the herbs, all the fruit ; and there remained 
not any green thing throughout all the land 
of Egypt. 

Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in 
great haste, and said, I have sinned against 
the Lord and against you ; forgive me J 
pray this once, and ask God to take away 
this great evil. 

Then Moses and Aaron went out from 
Pharaoh's presence, and prayed to God tc 
take away the locusts. And God sent a 
strong west wind, which blew the locusts 
into the Red Sea, where they died ; ther^ 
was not one left in all the land. 

Darkness that Could be Felt. 

But this sorrow of Pharaoh was only pre- 
tence ; he was sorry to have the locusts, but 
he was not sorry for his cruelty, nor foi his 
sin in breaking his promise ; and again he 
said, I will not let the people go. 

Then God sent the ninth plague. For 
three days and nights he covered the whole 
land of Egypt with a thick darkness ; it 
seemed as if they could feel it, it was so thick. 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



95 



Their lamps gave no light, and for three days 
they could not see each other. No one 
moved from his place, no one could work all 
that while ; every one was too frightened to 
do anything. 

The Israelites had light in all their dwell- 
ings, which showed the Egyptians most 
plainly that the darkness was sent as a punish- 
ment to them for their cruelty to God's 
people. 

Pharaoh now was willing to let the people 
go ; but he said, You shall not take your 
herds with you. Moses said, When they 
went they must take all that they had. Then 
was Pharaoh very angry, and he would not 
let them go. 

Now God sent a tenth plague over the 
land of Egypt. Nine fearful plagues had 
already swept over the land of Egypt, and 
Pharaoh was still obstinate and self-willed. 
But the time was now coming for him to 
obey the command of God, and to let the 
Israelites go. 

The First-born Slain. 

In the middle of the night the tenth awful 
trouble came, for in that hour of stillness and 
of darkness, God smote all the first-born of 
the land of Egypt, from the first-born of 
Pharaoh that sat on his throne, to the first- 
born of the captive that was in the dungeon ; 
and all the first-born of the cattle. 

Every Egyptian household was awaked 
from its sleep to see the dying pain of its best 
beloved one, for there was not a house where 
there was not one dead. An exceedingly 
great and bitter cry of fear and grief was 
heard throughout all the land of Egypt — 
all were mourning for their slain ones. 

They could not see the hand that dealt 
the blow, but they knew that it was given by 
the God of the Israelites, for their many 
cruelties to his people. 



In great alarm, in the middle of the night, 
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and 
said, Rise up, and go away out of my land, 
you and the Israelites. Go and serve the 
Lord as you said. Take your flocks and 
herds and be gone, and bless me also. 

The proud king was so much humbled now, 
that he asked them to bless him. He begged 
that he might not be under the wrath of that 
mighty God, whose power was so great, 
whose displeasure was so terrible. The 
Egyptians, too, prayed the Israelites to make 
haste and go away ; or, they said, We shall 
all be dead men. They willingly gave them 
all that they wanted, and all that they asked 
for, so anxious were they to have them go. 

Getting Ready to Go. 

But how could the Israelites leave the 
land of Egypt at such a short notice, and in 
the middle of the night too ? They were all 
ready to do so, though it was in the middle 
of the night. While every household in Egypt 
was awake, mourning for its dead, every 
household in Israel was awake keeping a 
feast. 

Moses had told them to prepare for the 
journey, for on that very night God would 
make Pharaoh consent to let them go 

God had said, Tell them, I will pass 
through the land of Egypt, about midnight, 
and all the first-born, both of man and beast, 
in the land of Egypt shall die; but I will pass 
over your houses and not smite your first- 
born. You must kill a lamb and sprinkle 
its blood on your doorposts : then, when I 
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the 
plague shall not destroy you. You must all 
of you stay in-doors that night and eat a 
feast, while the Lord is passing through the 
land to destroy the Egyptians, This feast is 
to be called the feast of the Passover. You 
must keep it every year as the day comes 



96 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



round, and you must eat it then as you will 
eat it to-night. 

Then God told them to take the lamb, 
whose blood they had sprinkled on the door- 
posts, and to roast it whole. Each family 



Egypt soon turns bad, and it is not proper 
that part of a sacrifice to God should be 
spoiled and become corrupt. 

The lamb was to be eaten with unleavened 
bread and with bitter herbs ; first of all tc 




THE FEAST OF 

was to have its Passover lamb. It was to be 
a lamb without disease or fault of any kind. 
After they had eaten as much as they 
required, they were to save none of it till 
morning, but burn with fire what was left. 
This was because meat in a hot countrv like 



THE PASSOVER. 

remind them of the heavy and bitter bondage 
that they had suffered in Egypt. It was to 
teach them, too, that sin corrupts and 
spreads like leaven, and that, like the bitter 
herb, it is a bitter and an evil thing. 

They were to eat it with their girdles 




97 



98 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



tightened round their waists, with their shoes 
on their feet, with their staves in their hands, 
and to eat it in haste, so as to be ready at a 
moment's notice when the order came to 
start on their journey. 

While the Israelites were thus eating that 
Passover feast, the order came for them all 
at once to leave the land of Egypt, where 
they had lived so many years. They were 
quite ready to go ; not one moment did they 
wait ; and the Egyptians, who before were so 
anxious to keep them, now almost thrust 
them out of their land. 

This going out of the Israelites from 
Egypt is called the Exodus — the word 
"exodus" means departure. 

A Vast Multitude. 

How many Israelites were there, do you 
think, who left Egypt under Moses? It is 
supposed about three millions of men, 
women, and children. If you counted a 
thousand every day, you would be more 
than eight years counting this great multi- 
tude. 

When Jacob came from Canaan to settle 
in Egypt, his sons, and daughters, and grand- 
children, were but seventy persons altogether; 
now, notwithstanding their hard bondage, 
they had increased to this large number. 

God showed them the way out of Egypt. 
He went before them in a pillar of cloud by 
day, and in a pillar of fire by night. The 
cloudy pillar sheltered them from the hot 
rays of the sun by day, and the fiery pillar 
gave them light by night. After they had 
journeyed for three days, they came to the 
borders of the Red Sea, and there they 
encamped, or set up their tents, and rested. 
By this time Pharaoh and his servants 
said, Why did we let the Israelites go from 
serving us ? What shall we do without 
their labor? Let us go and make them 



come back to their work. Then Pharaoh 
gave orders to his servants to get ready the 
war chariots, for he said, I and my soldiers 
will go after the Israelites and bring them back. 
So they made ready all the horses and 
chariots of Pharaoh, and overtook the Is- 
raelites as they were encamped by the sea t 
Great was the terror of the Israelites as they 
saw these armed men coming towards them. 
They had no arms themselves, so they could 
not fight them. They were shut in by the 
mountains on the one side, and by the Red 
Sea on the other, so they could not run away 
from them. There seemed no way in which 
they could get out of their hands. 

Overtaken by the Egyptians. 

In their distress they cried to God and he 
heard them. He said, You can do nothing, 
you need do nothing ; I will do all. Fear 
not, stand still, and see the salvation of God ; 
for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to- 
day, ye shall see again no more for ever. 

It was about evening when the Egyptians 
overtook the Israelites. They felt so sure 
that they could not get away from them, 
that they pitched their tents near to the 
place where the Israelites were encamped, 
and waited till morning meaning then to 
drive them back again to their slavery in 
Egypt. 

The Israelites were trembling with fear, 
when all at once they saw their pillar of fire 
move through the air and come between 
them and the Egyptians. Now it was a 
pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud both at 
once. To them it was a pillar of fire giving 
them light, but to the Egyptians it was s 
pillar of cloud, covering them with darkness. 
The Egyptians could not see the camp oi 
the Israelites all night, for the thick cloud 
hid them from their sight. Still they thought 
that they were safe in their power; the>> 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



99 



could not climb the mountains, they could 
not walk over the sea. 

Now, what happened? Moses, at the 
command of God, stretched out his rod over 
the waters of the Red Sea, and they divided, 
and the sea was|like a wall on the right hand 
and on the left. Then a strong east wind 
began to blow, which dried up a pathway 



Then they came to the spot where they 
thought the Israelites were staying, and they 
found them gone. And the Egyptians pur- 
sued, and went in after them to the midst of 
the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his 
chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to 
pass, that in the morning watch the Lore? 
looked unto the host of the Egyptians 




PHARAOH S HOST DESTROYED IN THE RED SEA 



for them through the sea. Now, Moses 
said, Go forward; so this vast host began 
its journey through this wonderful road to 
the land on the opposite side. It is supposed 
that the sea was eight miles wide in that part 
where the Israelites crossed. It was not until 
morning when the Israelites had nearly all 
reached the further side, that the Egyptians 
became aware of what had taken place. 



through the pillar of fire and of the cloud 
and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and 
took off their chariot wheels, that they drave 
them heavily : so that the Egyptians said, 
Let us flee from the face of Israel ; for the 
Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch 
out thine hand over the sea, that the waters 
may come again upon the Egyptians, upon 



100 



THE STORY OF MOSES. 



their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the 
sea, and the sea returned to his strength 
when the morning appeared; and the 
Egyptians fled against it ; and the Lord 
overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of 
the sea. 

And the waters returned, and covered the 
chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host 
of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them ; 
there remained not so much as one of them. 
But the children of Israel walked upon dry 
land in the midst of the sea ; and the waters 
were a wall unto them on their right hand, 
.and on their left. 

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out 
of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel 
saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 
And Israel saw that great work which the 
Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the 
ipeople feared the Lord, and believed the 
the Lord, and his servant Moses. 

So obstinate, self-willed Pharaoh, who was 
6ent on having his own way, found it was of 



no use to strive against what it was right for 
him to do. He found the truth of the words, 
He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his 
neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that 
without remedy. 

The Israelites were full of gratitude as 
they looked at the dead bodies of their ene- 
mies now lying upon the sea-shore. Now 
they could hurt them no more ; they need 
never fear the Egyptian again. They might 
well feel that it was a great work that the 
Lord had done for them. The news of this 
mighty deliverance spread abroad into the 
distant countries through which they had to 
pass, and other nations feared to injure a 
people who were so clearly under the special 
care of God. 

Moses and the Israelites sang a song of 
thanks to God for helping them in this time 
of great need. It was all about God's good- 
ness : it began and ended with, Sing ye to 
the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously ; 
the horse and his rider hath he thrown ittto 
the sea. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

B. C. 1491. 

From the "Red Sea to Sinai — The Bitter Waters made Sweet — Bread from Heaven 
—A Flock of Quails — Water from the Rock in Horeb — Battle with the Amalek- 
ites — The Ten Commandments Spoken from Sinai — Story of the Tabernacle and 
its Services — The Scapegoat Sent into the Wilderness. 




AVING left the spot 
at which they 
crossed the Red 
Sea, the Israelites 
went into the desert 
southward, towards 
Horeb. This was 
not the direct way 
to Canaan — the 
land promised by 
God to Abraham 
and to his children; 
but first of all, 
before going there, 
the Israelites were to visit the place where 
Moses saw the burning bush. There they 
were to worship God, and he would then 
direct them what to do next. 

For three weary days they travelled on, 
but they came to no well of water. That 
which they had brought with them from their 
last resting-place was all gone, and now they 
were ready to die of thirst. 

In this cold country we do not know what 
it is to suffer from thirst as those do who live 
in hot countries where water is scarce. For 
three days the Isiaelites had toiled on, with 
the scorching, blazing sun above them, and 
the burning sands of the desert beneath their 
feet. No sound of streams gladdened their 
ears, no green tree or grass delighted their eyes. 
On, this vast multitude moves in silence, 



when at last they see green trees and bushes. 
Now they know that water is near. How 
they rush on to the streams, which are life 
to them, and the whole multitude stoops to 
drink. But, hark! what is the meaning of 
that loud, wild cry of pain and disappointment? 

Brave men groan aloud ; the mothers weep 
for their children, whose sufferings are worse 
to them than their own ; the little ones dash 
down the water with a moaning cry. But 
why? The water is so salt and bitter that 
they cannot drink it. The streams only 
mock the agony of their thirst, for they see 
water, but they loathe to taste it. They had 
been used to the sweet water of the Nile, 
which is some of the finest in the world. 

No wonder they were disappointed. But 
they murmured, instead of praying to God. 
He had helped them through worse troubles 
than this, and they should have trusted in 
him now. They grumbled to Moses, and 
said, What shall we drink ? 

The Water Made Sweet. 

The Lord had pity on their suffering, and 
showed Moses a tree which he told him to 
throw into the waters, and then the bitter 
taste would be taken away, and they would 
be fit to drink. The name of the place 
where these bitter waters were was called 
Marah, for Marah means "bitter." 

The next day the Israelites moved on to 

101 



102 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



Elim, and there they rested under the shade 
of beautiful palm-trees, and there they found 
an abundance of sweet water. 

When the Israelites had been out of the 
land of Egypt for about a month, they found 
that they had eaten up nearly all the corn 
and other food that they had brought with 
them. They were now in the wilderness of 
Sin, between Elim and Sinai. They could 
buy no food in the desert, nor did any corn 
grow there. As they had before suffered 
thirst, so now they began to feel the pain of 
hunger. So they grumbled again. 

They said, It would have been better for 
us to have died in Egypt, than to come to 
this desert to die of hunger. Our first-born 
had better have been slain with those of the 
Egyptians, we had better have been drowned 
with our enemies in the Red Sea, than have 
come to this trouble. 

Then they began to think of the bread and 
meat they had eaten in Egypt, but they for- 
got how hard was their slavery there. Now 
they were free men, on their way to the land 
promised to their fathers. It was not brave 
of them to think so much of the difficulties 
by the way, and it was very faithless and 
foolish of them not to trust God, when he 
had helped them so often. 

A Large Flock of Quails. 

God was grieved that they should mur- 
mur, yet he had pity on their wants. He 
sent them both meat and bread. That very 
evening a vast flock of quails came up and 
covered the camp and the Israelites were 
able to catch them in great numbers. They 
were most likely going to Egypt to feast in 
the cornfields, for this was about the season 
when corn was ripe. 

Now the Israelites had plenty of meat, 
and they could also dry the flesh of the 
birds that they did not want for present use, 



ready for a future day. This was done by 
stripping off the skin with the feathers, and 
putting the body of the bird into the hot 
sand for a little while, when it would be dry 
and keep good some time. 

This is the promise the Lord made, and 
we are also told how he kept his word. 
The Lord said unto Moses, Behold, I will 
rain bread from heaven for you ; and the 
people shall go out and gather some every 
day, that I may prove them, whether they 
will walk in my law or not. On the sixth 
day they shall prepare that which they bring 
in : and it shall be twice as much as they 
gather daily. And Moses and Aaron said 
unto all the children of Israel, At even, then 
ye shall know that the Lord hath brought 
you out from the land of Egypt : and in the 
morning, then ye shall see the glory of the 
Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings 
against the Lord : and what are we, that ye 
murmur against us ? 

The Ground Covered with Bread. 

And Moses said, The Lord shall give you 
in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morn- 
ing bread to the full ; for that the Lord 
heareth your murmurings which ye murmur 
against him : and what are we. Your mur- 
murings are not against us, but against 
the Lord. 

And Moses told Aaron to say unto all the 
congregation of the children of Israel, Come 
near before the Lord : for he hath heard 
your murmurings. As Aaron spoke unto 
the whole congregation of the children of 
Israel, they looked towards the wilderness, 
and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared 
in the cloud. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, I have 
heard the murmurings of the children of 
Israel : speak unto them, saying, At even ye 
shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



103 



be filled with bread ; and ye shall know that 
I am the Lord your God. In the evening 
the quails came up, and covered the camp : 
and in the morning the dew lay round about 
the host. And when the dew was dried up, 
behold, upon the face of the wilderness there 
lay a small round thing, as small as the 
hoar-frost on the ground. And when the 
children of Israel saw it, they said one to 
another, It is manna ; for they knew not 
what it was. 

And Moses said unto them, This is the 
bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. 
This is the thing which the Lord hath com- 
manded, Gather of it every man according 
to his eating, an omer (about five pints) for 
every man, according to the number of your 
persons ; take ye every man for them which 
are in his tents. 

And the children of Israel did so, and 
gathered some more, some less. And when 
they measured it, he that gathered much had 
nothing over, and he that gathered little had 
no lack ; they gathered every man accord- 
ing to his eating. And Moses said, Let no 
man leave of it till the morning. Notwith- 
standing they hearkened not unto Moses ; 
but some of them left of it until the morning, 
and it bred worms, and stank : and Moses 
was wroth with them. And they gathered it 
every morning, every man according to his 
eating; and when the sun waxed hot, 
it melted. 

The Manna Lasts Two Days. 

On the sixth day they gathered twice as 
much bread, two omers for one man : and 
all the rulers of the congregation came and 
told Moses. And he said unto them, This 
is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow 
is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord : 
bake that which ye will bake to-day, and 
seethe that ye will seethe ; and that which 



remaineth over lay up for you to be kept 
until the morning. And they laid it up till 
the morning, as Moses bade. And Moses 
said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath 
unto the Lord : to-day ye shall not find it in 
the field. Six days ye shall gather it ; but 
on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in 
it there shall be none. 

Some of the people went out on the 
seventh day to gather, and they found none. 
And the Lord said unto Moses, How long 
refuse ye to keep my commandments and 
my laws ? 

See, for that the Lord hath given you the 
sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth 
day the bread of two days ; abide ye every 
man in his place ; let no man go out of his 
place on the seventh day. 

The Israelites called the name of this 
bread "Manna," because they did not know 
what it was. The word manna comes from 
"man hu," the Hebrew of "what is this?" 
The manna was very nice ; it was like meal 
and honey when eaten raw, but when cooked 
it had a taste of fresh oil, a flavor much liked 
by the Israelites. 

God did not wish the Israelites to forget 
how he had fed them in the wilderness, when 
they reached Canaan. He said, Save a 
measure full of manna, that it may be kept 
for future generations, to see the bread where- 
with I have fed you in the wilderness, when 
I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 
The supply of manna never failed until they 
reached the land of Canaan. God gave them 
day by day their daily bread. 

A Fountain in a Rock. 

At last the Israelites left the wilderness ot 
Sin, and came to a place called Rephidim. 
Here again they wanted water, and instead 
of being patient, and waiting for God's help, 
they began to blame Moses. They said, 



104 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



Why have you brought us up out of Egypt 
to kill us, and our children, and our cattle 
with thirst ? 

Then Moses cried to God, and said, What 
shall I do ? the people are almost ready to 



come water, so that the people may drink. 
Then Moses went with the elders of Israel 
to the rock in Horeb, and smote it, and 
waters flowed from it in refreshing streams 
down to the place where the Israelites had 1 




MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCK. 



stone me to death. God said, Go in before 
the people, and take with you the elders of 
Israel ; and take the rod with which you 
divided the Red Sea. I will go before you, 
and show you a rock in Horeb which you 
shall smite with vour rod, and out of it shall 



set up their tents. This water lasted them 
for the whole time that they remained in that 
neighborhood, which was more than a year. 
The rock which it was thought was struck 
by Moses, is to be seen by travelers at the 
present day. 





^., ■"■■■■ 




I— I 
CO 

Eh 
P 

o 

a 

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H 

H 
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ft 

CO 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



105. 



Then came a people called the Amalekites, 
and fought against the children of Israel in 
Rephidim. And Moses said to a brave man 
whose name was Joshua, Choose men, and 
go out and fight with Amalek ; to-morrow 
I will stand on the top of the hill with the 
rod of God in my hand. Joshua did as 
Moses had said. He chose some brave 



tired, and they brought a stone for him to 
sit on ; his hands were heavy, and so Aaron 
and Hur held up his hands, the one on one 
side of him and the other on the other side. 
This they did until the sun went down. Anc 
Joshua and his men overcame Amalek. 

God was displeased with Amalek for 
making war against the children of Israel 




AARON AND HUR HOLDING UP THE HANDS OF MOSES. 



men and went to fight Amalek ; and Moses, 
Aaron and Hur, Miriam's husband, went to 
the top of the hill where they could see the 
battle in the valley below. 

When Moses held up his hand the chil- 
dren of Israel were successful and the battle 
was in their favor, but when Moses let down 
his han^ Amalek prevailed. Moses was 



and he said the time would come when the 
Amalekites would be destroyed and no one 
would remember them. Then Moses built 
an altar to remind the people that God had 
said he would punish the Amalekites for 
their wickedness. 

Now when Jethro, the priest of Midian, 
Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God 



106 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



had done for the children of Israel, he took 
Zipporah, Moses' wife, and his two sons 
Gershom and Eliezer and brought them to 
Moses. And Moses went out to meet his 
father-in-law and kissed him, and hearkened 
:o his voice, and did all he said. 

And Moses told his father-in-law all that 
he Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the 
Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the 
travail that had come upon them by the way, 
and how the Lord delivered them. And 
Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which 
the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had 
delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 
And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who 
hath delivered you out of the hand of the 
Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, 
who hath delivered the people from under 
the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know 
that the Lord is greater than all gods ; for 
in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he 
was above them. And Jethro, Moses' father- 
in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices 
for God : and Aaron came, and all the elders 
of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in- 
law before God. 

At the Foot of Mount Sinai. 

And Moses by Jethro's advice chose able 
men out of all Israel and made them heads 
over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of 
hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 
And they judged the people at all seasons : 
the hard cases they brought unto Moses but 
every small matter they judged themselves. 
And Moses let his father-in-law depart ; and 
he went his way into his own land. 

The Israelites next came to the desert of 
Sinai or Horeb, and there they encamped 
before the mountain. This mountain is about 
three miles in length, and it has two summits 
or peaks ; one is called Mount Horeb, the 
other Mount Sinai ; but Mount Sinai is by 



far the highest of all the mountains in the 
whole of that district. 

This was the place where Moses saw the 
burning bush, and here they were to wait, 
while God made known to them his will, and 
gave to them their laws as a nation. Here, 
too, it was that God gave the laws which we 
call " The Ten Commandments." 

Most likely the Israelites pitched their 
tents in a large plain on the south of Mount 
Sinai ; from this place all the vast host of 
Israel would have a good view of this grand 
" Mount of God." The ground here, oppo- 
site the mountain, rises, and they could pitch 
their tents, row above row, while Sinai would 
seem like a lofty pulpit from which God's 
words would be uttered in the hearing of 
every ear. 

God told Moses now to tell the people 
that if they would but obey his voice, then 
he would make them his special care, above 
all people. Moses told the people these 
words of the Lord, and they sent for answer, 
All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. 

Now they had agreed to do as God bid 
them, and God had agreed to take particular 
care of them, and to make them his own 
people. This was an agreement or covenant, 
in which God said that he would do certain 
things if they would do certain things. We 
are quite sure that the Lord would always 
keep his covenant, but we shall soon see how 
easily the Israelites broke theirs. 

Thunders and Lightnings. 

God now said, In three days I will come 
down in sight of all the people upon Mount 
Sinai, so tell the people to get ready for that 
day. They must bathe their persons, they 
must wash their clothes, for I am holy, and 
they must put away all uncleanness. They 
must set bounds all round the Mount, so 
that no man nor beast may be able to go up 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



107 



the mountain, for it is to be kept sacred 
while I appear there. 

Then the people did as the Lord directed ; 
and on the morning of the third day, there 
were thunders and lightnings, and a thick 
cloud upon the Mount. Now they heard 



came down from heaven upon it in the fire ; 
and the smoke was like that of a furnace, 
and the whole of this huge granite mountain 
shook. Again the trumpet sounded long, 
and the sound grew louder and louder. 
Then the voice of God said to Moses, Tell 



the sound of a trumpet both loud and long, the people to beware how they come too 




MOSES RECEIVING THE TABLES OF THE LAW. 



and all the people trembled in their tents. 
They felt that God was there. 

Moses said to the people, Come from the 
camp to the bottom of the mountain, to meet 
with God. They came and stood there 
before the Lord. Now the whole mountain 
seemed altogether to smoke, for the Lord 



near ; for if they only touch the mountain, 
they must instantly die for their rashness, 
they must be stoned or thrust through with 
a dart. So Moses went to the people, and 
told them all these words. 

Then God spoke to the people, saying, I 
am Jehovah, who brought you out of the 



108 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



land of Egypt ; you shall have no other 
gods but me. 

Some nations have many gods that they 
worship, but we know that they are not true 
gods ; for there is but one God who made 
all things in heaven and in earth, and his 
name is Jehovah. 

Must Not Worship Idols. 

God also said that no one was to make 
any image, or the likeness of anything, to 
bow down to it and worship it. First of all 
people made idols ; not that they thought 
the idols were God, but they thought that 
God would be worshipped through the idol ; 
and at last they forgot about God, and 
worshipped only the idol. People like to wor- 
ship what they can see ; so the Persians, for 
instance, thought, God is great and glorious, 
and bright and pure, what is most like him ? 
They thought fire was, which gives light and 
heat, so they worshipped God through the 
fire, but before long they forgot God and 
worshipped the fire, and the sun, and other 
things beside. 

God then told the people, that they must 
not take his name in vain, for he would hold 
the man guilty who did so. 

Again, God said, Remember the Sabbath 
day to keep it holy. Six days you may 
work, but the seventh day is the Lord's day, 
in it you shall rest. You may do no work 
on that day; you, nor your son, nor your 
daughter, nor your servants, nor your cattle. 
The Sabbath is like a sacred holiday, a rest- 
time given to all men by God himself. 

The next commandment that God gave 
was, Honor your father and your mother, that 
you may live long in the land which the 
Lord your God will give you. The Bible 
says a great deal about obedience to parents, 
and respectful behavior to them. God here 
gives a promise to those who obey this com- 



mand. It shows how much he thinks of 
right conduct to parents. It will go well 
with the obedient child, but it will go ill with 
the child who dishonors his parents. 

Thou Shalt not Kill. 

Thou shalt not kill, was the sixth com- 
mandment that God gave. We must not 
give way to anger, for is not that one of the 
first feelings that lead on to murder? It is 
a very shocking thing to kill a man, but it is 
also a shocking thing to have angry, quarrel- 
some, unloving feelings in the heart 

The seventh commandment teaches as to 
be modest and pure in our thoughts and feel- 
ings. How sad it is to hear loud rough 
tones, or to see bold rude looks. Do you 
not love the drooping snowdrop, which has 
no stain upon its pure white flower ? We 
should try to be like that in its modesty, 
sweetness, and purity. We may often learn 
lessons from the beautiful flowers. 

In the eighth commandment God said, 
Thou shalt not steal. He who takes the very 
least thing belonging to another, without his 
knowing it, is a thief. Perhaps what you 
take may never be missed by men ; but it is 
none the less stealing. It is far better to 
suffer by going without, than to have every- 
thing you want, if you get it dishonestly. A 
mother who had a large garden full of fruit 
and flowers, always felt quite happy to let 
her children play in it anywhere. She said, 
" My children will never pluck the flowers, 
nor eat the fruit without leave, for if they 
find any fruit dropped from the trees they 
always bring it to me to ask if they may 
have it." 

Again, God said, Thou shalt not bear 
false witness against thy neighbor. That 
means, that we are not to say unkind things 
of others. We must not tell tales of our 
companions ; we may say all the good we 




THE SETTING UP OF THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 



109 



!i 



110 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



know of people, but we must not talk of 
their faults so as to injure them. 

We Must not Covet. 

Again, God spoke ; he said, You must 
not covet anything belonging to your neigh- 
bor. That is, you must not long to have 
your neighbor's goods. Before, God had 
said, You must not steal, now he says, You 
must not even wish to get away your neigh- 
bor's things from him. 

When God had spoken these ten command- 
ments, the Israelites felt that they could 
bear the awful scene no longer. Perhaps at 




OUTSIDE VIEW OF THE TABERNACLE. 

the end of each command, the thunder pealed 
anew, and the trumpet sounded again, and 
the mountain smoked afresh. So terrible 
was the sight that even Moses said, I exceed- 
ingly fear and tremble. The people moved 
farther away from the mountain and stood 
afar off. 

They said to Moses, Do you speak to us, 
and we will listen, but let not God speak to 
us, lest we die. So the people stood afar off, 
and Moses drew near to the thick darkness 
where God was, to hear what other laws God 
had to give to the people. 

For rather more than eleven months the 
hosts of Israel were encamped in the plains 



of Horeb. During this time laws were given 
them, which separated them from all other 
nations. God was their chosen King. Now 
they were under his law, for they had said, 
All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. 

They were told in what order they were 
to march when they journeyed, and also 
when the different tribes were to encamp. 
The kind of animals that they might eat was 
also shown them ; these were called clean 
animals, and those that they were not allowed 
to eat were called unclean. 

At this time a regular service for the wor- 
ship of God was established, and the tribe of 

Levi was set 
apart to be the 
priests or min- 
isters of religion. 
The tabernacle, 
too, was set up. 
This was a kind 
of palace-tent for 
their King Je- 
hovah, who by 
his covenant 
with them said 
that he would 
dwell among 
them, and a bright cloud was always to be 
seen resting over the ark in the holy of holies 
in token of his presence. 

God told Moses how this tabernacle was 
to be made. It was to be made so that it 
could be easily taken down and put up again 
like a tent, for this was necessary, as the 
Israelites had to carry it about with them 
through all their desert wanderings. 

This tabernacle was divided into two parts 
by a veil or curtain of costly make. The 
innermost part was called the holy of holies ; 
nothing was kept there but the ark of the 
covenant. This ark, or chest, or box, was 
made of hard wood, which was covered all 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



Ill 



over with pure gold. The top of it was 
called the mercy-seat ; two angels made of 
pure gold overshadowed it with their wings. 

This ark was chiefly made to hold the two 
tables of stone, upon which God wrote the Ten 
Commandments. Other precious things were 
put there, such as a golden pot full of manna, 
and Aaron's rod that budded. 

No one ever went into this holiest 
place where the ark was but the 
high priest, and he only went once 
every year. This was on the great 
day of atonement, when he went to 
sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice 
before the Lord, thus to make an 
atonement for his own sins, and 
the sins of the people. 

The other part of the tabernacle 
outside this curtain, was called the 
holy place ; there the priests daily 
ministered. In this there was a 
golden candlestick, or rather lamp- 
stand, on which were placed seven 
lamps, the lights of which were kept 
burning with purest oil. 

There, also, was a table covered 
over with gold, upon which were 
kept loaves of bread, one for each 
tribe of Israel. This bread was 
called shew-bread, it was changed 
every week, and the stale loaves, or 
biscuits, were eaten only by the 
priests. 

Here, too, just in front of the 
curtain which hid the holy of holies, 
was the golden altar of incense. On this 
was burnt sweet smelling woods and gums, 
so that a sweet odor was always going up 
towards God. The prayers of good people 
are like sweet incense, as they go up from 
earth to the throne of God in heaven. 

This tabernacle was furnished with spoons, 
basins, dishes, covers, and many other things 



all made of pure gold. It was like a dwell- 
ing-house with its furniture, and not merely 
a place of worship. It was built to show 
that the Lord God would dwell among them 
as their King. Bread and meat and wine 
were offered there, part of which was burnt 
or poured in sacrifice as God's portion, and 




THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. 

part went for the use of the priests, who were 
the servants of God's household. 

The tabernacle stood in a large court, 
which was enclosed by poles and curtains, 
like a wall all round, but was open at the top 
to the sky. Just at the entrance of this 
court was the large altar of burnt-offering, 
where the animals killed for sacrifice were 



112 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAi. 



burnt, and between this altar and the entrance 
to the tabernacle was the laver or fountain 
made of brass where the priests washed their 
hands and feet, while they were about the 
service of God. 

The whole of the tabernacle, with its cere- 
monies and sacrifices, pointed to good 
things to come, when all these would be 
done away with. Many of the sacrifices 



work, and the high priest put off his splendid 
robes, and only appeared in his plainest dress, 
for it was a day of humbling before God, on 
account of sin. First of all, as Aaron and 
the priests were sinful men as well as the 
people, they had to offer a sin-offering to 
God for their own sins, before they could 
offer one for the sins of the people. 

This done, Aaron took two young goats, 




FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE. 



were to teach them to look forward to the 
time when Christ would come, and offer up 
his life for man's sin. 

I cannot tell you now of all the many 
sacrifices that God appointed. I have told 
you of the passover lamb, now I will tell you 
about the sin-offering, on the great day of 
atonement. 

On this solemn day the people did no 



and brought them before the altar. These 
were for the sin-offering of the people. One 
goat he killed, and took its blood into the 
holy of holies, and sprinkled it on the mercy- 
seat before God. Then Aaron laid his hands 
upon the head of the live goat, and said over 
all the sins of the people, and, as it were, put 
them upon the head of this goat. Then he 
sent the goat away into the wilderness, bear- 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



113 



ing with it all the sins of the people. This 
was to teach the people that God having 
pardoned their sins, would remember them 
against them no more. This points to the 
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of 
the world. 

Besides the sacrifices and offerings at 
special times, there was a lamb offered every 
morning and evening for their daily sins ; so 
when they saw the smoke of the sacrifice 
ascending they must have felt how constantly 
they needed to be forgiven. All the animals 
that were offered were to be quite free from 
any blemish, or spot. 

And the Lord said to Moses, See, 
I have called by name Bezaleel the 
son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the 
tribe of Judah : and I have filled him 
with the spirit of God, in wisdom, 
and in understanding, and in knowl- 
edge, and in all manner of work- 
manship, to devise cunning works, 
to work in gold, and in silver, and 
in brass, and in cutting of stones, to 
set them, and in carving of timber, 
to work in all manner of work- 
manship. And in the hearts of all 
that are wise hearted I have put 
wisdom, that they may make all 
that I have commanded thee. And he gave 
unto Moses, when he had made an end of 
communing with him upon mount Sinai, two 
tables of testimony, tables of stone, written 
with the finger of God. 

The Cloud over the Mercy-seat. 

After the tabernacle was finished, God 
did not call Moses on Mount Sinai again, 
to speak with him, but he called him into the 
tabernacle. For God came into the taber- 
nacle in a cloud over the mercy-seat and 
spoke with Moses there. And God told 
Moses to bring Aaron and his sons to the 
8 



door of the tabernacle to consecrate them, 
that is, make them priests. 

Then Moses brought them and he called 
all the people, that they might come and see 
what the Lord commanded him to do. 
And while they stood around the door cf the 
tabernacle he took Aaron and his sons and 
washed them with water ; and he put on 
Aaron the beautiful garments that had been 
made for him. Afterwards he poured oil 
upon his head and anointed him. He took 
Aaron's sons also, and put their garments 
upon them and offered up sacrifices to God. 
So Aaron and his sons were made priests, to 




THE LAVER. 

stay at the tabernacle and burn incense and 
offer up sacrifices for the children of Israel. 
Before this time other men might offer up 
their own sacrifices, as Abel, Noah and the 
Patriarchs had done. But now that God 
had chosen Aaron and his sons to be priests, 
no one else might offer up a sacrifice ; every 
man must bring his offering to the tabernacle, 
and let the priests burn it for him upon the 
altar there. 

The priests were commanded to offer up two 
lambs every day, one in the morning and the 
other in evening, for the sins of all the people 
of Israel. But God told Moses that, if any 



114 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



man wanted to bring an offering for his own 
sins, alone, he might bring an ox, or a sheep 



be pleased with it, for an offering, not 
because the blood of animals could take 




SENDING THE SCAPEGOAT INTO THE WILDERNESS. 



or a goat to the door of the tabernacle and lay 
his hand upon it and kill it, and God would 



away sins, but it served as a shadow and type 
of the sacrifice of Christ, who poured out his 




115 



116 



FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 



blood unto death, in order to take away the 
sins of the world. 

The priests were to dismiss the people 
with a blessing saying to them : The Lord 
jiess thee, and keep thee ; the Lord make 
his face shine upon thee and be gracious 
unto thee ; the Lord lift up his countenance 
upon thee and give thee peace. Among 
the sacred seasons of the Israelites the most 
prominent were : the Sabbath day, the Pass- 
over or Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast 
of Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks 
and of the First Fruits ; the Feast of Taber- 
nacles, the great day of Atonement, the Sab- 
bath year, and the Year of Jubilee. 

Beautiful Garments. 

The garments of the priests, whl?h desig- 
nated their office, were not worn by the 
Levites. The priestly garments were very 
simple ; the chief article was a tunic, made 
with sleeves, held together by a linen girdle, 
and extending from the neck to the ankles ; 
the material and the color, white linen, were 
symbols of purity and holiness. In addition 
to this official garment, the high priest wore 
a blue robe or coat, adorned on the hem 
with pomegranates and bells of gold; the 
former were symbols of the Word, and the 
bell was a symbol of proclamation. 

He also wore an ephod attached to the 
shoulders, made of costly materials of gold, 
of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet; the 
breast-plate was attached to it in front, 
by means of rings and chains, made of gold. 
This breast-plate was adorned with twelve 



precious stones, on which the names of the 
twelve tribes were engraved ; it was a 
memorial implying that the high priest, as 
the highest mediator of the old covenant, 
should always bear the people upon his heart. 
A small plate of gold was, besides, attached 
to the priestly mitre bearing the inscription : 
Holiness to the Lord. 

The people had now remained an entire 
year in their tents, the law was given, the 
tabernacle was erected, the priests were 
already occupied with their official duties, 
and the period of departure was near at 
hand. After the number of men who were 
able to bear arms had again been taken, and 
the second passover had been celebrated, the 
Lord gave the appointed signal: the cloud 
was taken up from the tabernacle and guided 
the people in their journeying. 

The tabernacle was then taken down by 
the Levites, and set up again after a three 
days' journey in the wilderness of Paran, 
where the children of Israel encamped. 
And, whenever the ark was lifted up, Moses 
said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be 
scattered; and let them that hate thee, flee 
before thee. And when it rested, he said, 
Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands 
of Israel. 

The tabernacle stood always in the middle 
of the camp, the tents of the Levites were 
next, and the tents of the other tribes were 
farther off, but on every side of the taber- 
nacle. And they kept their tents in the same 
place until they took them down to go on 
their journey again. 




THE WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND 



117 




•HE FOUNTAIN I** THE WILDERNESS. 



118 



CHAPTER IX. 



B. C. 1490. 

The Golden Calf — Moses Angry and Breaks the Tables op the Law — The Glory of 
Mount Sinai — Numbering the People — The Pillar of Fire — The Israelites Mur- 
mur — Punishment by Fire — A Strong Wind Brings Quails for Food — Spies Sent 
v'o the Promised Land — The Brazen Serpent — Story of Balaam and Balak — Death 
of Moses — The People Mourn Thirty Days. 

Then Aaron made of them the likeness of 
a calf or bull in gold. The most famous 
of the gods of Egypt was worshipped under 
the form of a bull, so Aaron thought it would 
please these people if he made for them a 
likeness of their own great God in the same 
form. 

Thus they broke the second command- 
ment, where God says, that they were not to 
make the likeness of anything, to bow down 
and worship it. Is it not wonderful that 
they forgot it so soon? One would have 
thought that they could never have looked 
up to the great mountain before them, with- 
out thinking of the solemn words that God 
had so lately uttered from its heights, amidst 
thunder, and lightning, and earthquake, and 
the loud trumpet, whose voice awoke the 
echo of the mountains round. 




SOURING 

the time 
Moses 
was up 
on Mount 
Sinai, speaking 
with God about 
all those things 
told in the last story, the 
Israelites were very uneasy 
because he did not come 
back. He had been gone 
for forty days, when the 
people came to Aaron, and 
said, Where is Moses? We 
cannot tell what has become 
'MJV"t- of him: we are afraid he is 
/fa dead. Make us, therefore, 

an image in the likeness of God, that we may 
worship before it. 

Aaron was afraid to tell the people how 
wicked this was, and he said, Bring me your 
golden ornaments. Probably he hoped the 
people would not be willing to part with 
what they liked so much, and then he would 
not be obliged to make them an image. But 
the people were determined to have a like- 
ness of a god, so they took off their orna- 
ments, and brought them to Aaron. 



They Worship an Image. 

When the image was set up, then all the 
people came before it, and offered sacrifices 
and feasted. While they were doing this, 
God said to Moses, Make haste and go down 
to the people, for they are sinning. Then 
Moses went, and he took in his hand the 
tablets of stone, which were the work of God, 
and the writing on them was the writing of 
God, engraven on the tablets. As he came 
near to the camp, he saw the people dancing 

119 



120 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



round the calf; then he felt very grieved and 
very angry, and he threw down the tablets, 
on which God had written his laws and his 
covenant, and broke them at the bottom of 
the mount. 

The breaking of these tablets showed how 
the people had broken God's laws and the 



in the fire, ground the ashes to powder, and 
then threw the dust into the water that the 
people drank. They must have thought 
what a poor god it was, if it could be served 
so. Then Moses said, Who is on the Lord's 
side ? Let him come to me. So all the 
Levites came to him. Now Moses said, 




THE ISRAELITES WORSHIPPING THE GOLDEN CALF. 



covenant that they had so lately made with 
him, when they said, All that the Lord hath 
spoken we will do. Before this time, when 
they had done wrong, God had not punished 
them ; but now they had agreed to be under 
his laws, and because they had broken them 
they must suffer the consequences. 

First of all, Moses took the calf, burnt it 



Take your swords and kill those who have 
been chief in this sin. And the Levites 
killed three thousand men. Then Moses 
went back to the mountain, and prayed tc 
God to forgive the people their sin. 

Afterwards God told Moses to get two 
more tablets of stone, like those which he 
had broken. On these God wrote the same 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



121 



laws that he had written on the first tablets. 
Moses was away in the mountain with God 
just as long the second time as he was the 
first. During those forty days he did neither 
eat bread nor drink water, for God kept him 
alive without the need of food. 

When he came down to the people, they 
looked at his face, and the skin of his face 



been the reflection of God's glory upon his 
face. We grow like to those with whom we 
live, in thought and feeling ; if we keep good 
company we shall be like our companions. 
Moses had been in glorious company, and 
some of that glory was shared by him. 

After this God commanded Moses to num- 
ber the people. He was told to find out how 




MOSES DESTROYING THE TABLES OF THE LAW. 



shone, and they were afraid to come near 
him. Then Moses put a veil over his face 
to hide its brightness, while he talked to the 
people of all the things that God had shown 
him, when he was up in Mount Sinai. 
What was it that made Moses' face shine 
so brightly ? You know that he had been 
with God in the Mount, and it must have 



many there were from twenty years old and 
upward, all that were able to go forth to war 
in Israel. The families were numbered 
according to their heads. All those that 
were numbered by the house of their fathers, 
from twenty years old and upward, all that 
were able to go forth to war were six hundred 
and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. 




MOSES BRINGING THE NEW TABLES OF THE LAW. 



122 



PANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



123 



At length the pillar of fire began to move, 
which was an order from God for the 
Israelites to leave the desert of Sinai, and 
march onwards towards Canaan. They 
always knew when God wished them to move 
forward, and when it was his will that they 
should stay at any place, by the moving or 
resting of this wonderful pillar. 

It was a good thing that God chose when 
they should go or stay, for if Moses had 
done so, they would have been sure to have 
grumbled. The old people would have 
wanted to stay still in one spot, the young 
ones would have wanted to move on too fast ; 
some would have liked one place, and some 
another ; but all would have been discon- 
tented. Now God, through this fiery pillar, 
fixed all their movements, and the people 
knew that it was their guide. 

For three days they journeyed till they 
came to the wilderness of Paran, and then 
the pillar rested ; so they set up their tents. 
At this place they began to complain. This 
grumbling, unthankful spirit displeased God, 
after all he had done for them. They did 
not like the hardship £nd weariness of a 
desert life, and said y How hot the sun is 
here, and how the sand scorches our feet! 
How dull it is in this still desert, and how 
uncomfortable to be always moving about 
from place to place ! They had many hard- 
ships, certainly ; but they were now on their 
way to the Promised Land, where they would 
have a beautiful and settled home. 

What Became of the Grumblers. 

God heard their murmurings ; and he did 
not pass them over now, for they were under 
his laws, and he punished them for their sin. 
He sent a fire, which burnt many of those 
who had grumbled most. Perhaps this fire 
was lightning, which struck them dead in a 
moment ; perhaps it was the hot desert wind, 



I called the simoon, which breathed its scorch- 
I ing breath upon them, and they died. The 
I Israelites called this place Taberah, or " the 
J burning," because of the sad end of some of 
| their number. 

When the Israelites left Egypt, a great 
; many of the lowest of the people went with 
them. They are called the " mixed multi- 
tude," and they were mostly the very lowest 
I of the low. They were very often the first 
to begin to grumble, and to leave the worship 
of God, and were a constant trouble to the 
Israelites. At the very next place of encamp- 
ment when they left Taberah, these people 
again began to murmur. What is the matter 
now ? They do not want for water, for the 
streams from the smitten rock still follow 
them They do not want for bread, for God 
has never once forgotten to rain down the 
manna from heaven. 

They Cry for Meat. 

They cry, We want meat. We remember 
the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely; the 
refreshing cucumbers, the cooling melons, 
the pleasant onions ! We have nothing but 
dry food here ; we are tired of having only 
this manna. It was not only the mixed 
multitude who grumbled. They began, and 
the sin spread like a disease, as all sin is, 
through the camp. Soon Moses heard the 
people weep throughout their families, every 
man in the door of his tent ; and the Lord 
heard, too. God told Moses to say to the 
people, You ask, Who shall give you flesh 
to eat? I will. You shall eat flesh; not 
for one day only, nor for two days, nor for 
five days, neither for ten days, nor for twenty- 
days, but for a whole month, until you hate 
the sight of it. 

Then God sent a strong wind, which 
brought them quails. These birds came in 
very, very large numbers, and they flew so 



124 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



low that the people caught them easily. 
Now they had flesh in abundance ; but God 
had not given it them in love, but in punish- 
ment. It was a year since they had eaten 
meat, and now they ate so much that it made 
them ill — so ill that a very great many people 
died. God knew what was the best food for 
them to eat in the desert, and they would be 



land which God promised to your fathers i 
go up and take it ; do not be afraid of the 
people who live in it. But, the people said, 
We had better send twelve men before us — = 
one man out of each tribe — to search the 
land 

me must go up, 
shall come. 



and bring us word again by what way 
and into what cities we 




KHfcuita.sc. 



THE SPIES RETURNING FROM CANAAN. 



quite sure that he would supply all their real 
wants. Whenever they tried to have their 
own way, they always got into trouble ; but 
they were slow to learn that God's ways 
are best. 

After this they went on marching and 
resting, until at last they came to the 
southern border of the land of Canaan. 
Now, Moses said, you are in sight of the 



So twelve men were chosen to spy out the 
land. They left the camp early in Septem- 
ber, and came back about the middle oi 
October. They were gone forty days, and 
they brought back with them some of the 
fruits which grew in the country to show 
their countrymen. How delighted they must 
have been to see the figs, and the grapes, and 
the pomegranates, which they were told 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



125 



grew in rich abundance in this land which 
was to be their own ! There was one large 
cluster of grapes, cut from the valley of 
Eschol, which they looked at with great 
surprise. It was carried by two men on a 
pole, partly because of its great size, and 
partly to keep it from being bruised. 

The twelve men said, We came unto the 
land where you sent us, and indeed it floweth 
with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of 
it. They meant to say. it is a land where 
there is plenty of food and grass for our 
cattle, so we shall have plenty of milk ; and 
there are a great many wild bees which store 
large quantities of honey from the flowers. 

The Giants of Cam an, 

When the people heard this goud account 
of the land, they longed to go and take it : 
then the spies said, Though it is a fruitful 
land, yet the people who live in it are like 
giants, and they have strong cities with walls 
all round them. This frightened the people, 
but Caleb, who was one of the twelve spies, 
said, Do not be afraid : we are well able to 
overcome the land ; let us go up at once to 
take it. And Joshua said the same. Then 
the other spies said, We are not able to go 
up against the people, for they are stronger 
than we are. The people, when they heard 
these words, actually wept from disappoint- 
ment and fear. They began to murmur 
against Moses and Aaron, and said, Oh that 
we had died in Egypt ! oh that we had died 
in the wilderness ! We had better return to 
Egypt : let us appoint a captain to take us 
back again. Then Joshua and Caleb said, Do 
not act so foolishly and wickedly : the land 
which we passed through to search is an 
exceedingly fruitful one. Do not be afraid 
of the people who live there, for the Lord 
is with us to keep us from harm, but he is 
not with them: you need not fear them, 



The mean-spirited people would not listen 
to these two brave men, but took up stones 
to stone them to death. All at once the 
glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle, 
in sight of all the people, so they knew that 
God was going to speak to them by Moses 

This was what God said to these faithless, 
cowardly people, Because you have forgotten 
how I delivered you from your enemies in 
Egypt, and have helped you through all 
difficulties by the way;' because you have 
not believed that I would still help you, to 
conquer all your other enemies, and give you 
the land that I promised you, none of you 
that are grown up men and women shall ever 
see this good land You shall wander for 
forty years in the wilderness, as the men 
were forty days in searching the land ; a year 
for each day shall you wander about in the 
wilderness, until all that are twenty years 
old and more shall be dead. Joshua and 
Caleb, who spoke the truth, shall go in, and 
so shall your little ones, who you said 
would be sure to be killed by the inhabitants. 
After forty years I will give the land to them, 
but not to you ; you are not worthy of it. 

The ten men who spoke evil of the land, 
and who discouraged the people, were struck 
dead by God's displeasure on the spot, but 
Joshua and Caleb lived on. 

In Great Trouble. 

And now the people mourned greatly. 
They had something to grieve over now, 
and they found, by their doom to wander 
forty years in the desert, with no hope of 
seeing the good land, what an evil and bitter 
thing it is to sin against God. 

Thirty-eight years after God had sentenced 
the Israelites to wander for forty years in the 
wilderness, they came to Kadesh, where 
Miriam died and was buried. Here they 
suffered greatly for want of water. With 




THE HIGH PRIEST IN FULL DRESS. 



126 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



12T 



great impatience and folly they wished 
themselves dead, and acted just as their 
fathers had done at Rephidim. They 
scolded Moses and Aaron for bringing 
them out of Egypt, and behaved very badly. 

Then God said to Moses, Take the rod, 
make all the people come together; then do 
you speak to the rock which is before your 
eyes, and water shall come out of it for the 
people to drink. So Moses and Aaron 
gathered the people together before the 
rock, and Moses said, Hear now, ye rebels ; 
must we fetch you water out of this rock ? 

Then Moses lifted up his hand and smote 
the rock twice, and the water came out 
abundantly. Then God said to Moses and 
Aaron, You have not honored me before the 
people, so you shall not lead them into the 
good land which I have given them. Moses 
lost his temper, and spoke angrily to the 
people. God told him to speak to the rock, 
but he hit it twice. He said, Must we fetch 
you water? when it was only God's power 
that could bring water out of the rock. So, 
for his impatience and unbelief in God, in 
which Aaron joined, these two great men 
were not allowed to lead the Israelites into 
Canaan. 

Death of Aaron. 

Very soon after this the Israelites came to 
Mount Hor. Here, God told Aaron, was the 
place where he would die. Moses and Aaron, 
and Eleazer, the son of Aaron, went at God's 
command to the top of this bare and rugged 
mountain. All the people stood below, and 
watched these three as they walked up this 
dreary height — they knew that only two out 
of the three would ever come down again, 
that their high priest was gone up to die. 
When they reached the top, Moses took off 
the priestly robes from Aaron and put them 
upon his son Eleazer ; then Aaron gave one 



look at the tents of Israel in the plains below, 
one long look towards the Promised Land, 
whose distant hills he could just see, and 
then Moses and Eleazer heard his last words, 
and Aaron died. For thirty days the whole 
congregation mourned for their lost high 
priest. 

At last the fiery pillar moved again, and 
they journeyed round the coasts of Edom. 
Here they were much cast down because of 
the troubles of the way. They had not yet 
learned the lesson of patient trust, and again 
they grumbled. They longed for other 
bread than manna, and spoke against God 
and against Moses. 

A Plague in the Tents. 

So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the 
people, and they bit the people so that a great" 
many died. There were a great many pois- 
onous creatures in the desert ; but we never 
hear of their being bitten until now, God had 
always taken care of them, and kept them 
from this as well as other dangers ; but now, 
for their sin, he let the serpents follow their 
nature and bite the people. 

Perhaps the serpents were called ''fiery" 
because their color was yellowish or bright. 
Perhaps it was because of the burning pain 
which followed their bite, or the raging thirst 
which people felt from the effect of poison in 
their blood. The people very soon confessed 
their sin, and begged Moses to pray to God 
to take away the serpents from them And 
Moses prayed for the people. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, Make a 
serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and 
it shall come to pass that every one that is 
bitten shall feel well again, when he looks at 
it. Moses did so ; and it came to pass that 
if a serpent had bitten any man, when he 
beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 

And the children of Israel set forward and 



128 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



pitched in the plains of Moab, near the river 
Jordan by Jericho. 

And when Balak, king of Moab, saw all 
that Israel had done to the Amorites, he was 
sore afraid of the people, and sent messengers 
unto a prophet named Balaam in Meso- 
ootamia, to call him saying : Behold there is 



whom thou cursest is cursed. And they 
departed and came to Balaam with rewards. 
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt 
not go with them ; thou shalt not curse the 
people, for they are blessed. Therefore 
Balaam said unto the princes of Balak : Get 
you into your land, for the Lord refuseth to 




THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 



a people come out from Egypt, behold, they 
cover the face of the earth, and they abide 
over against me. Come now therefore, I 
pray thee, curse me this people, for they are 
too mighty for me ; perad venture I shall pre^ 
vail, that we may smite them, and that I may 
drive them out of the land ; for I know that 
he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he 



give me leave to go with you. But Balak 
sent again princes, more honorable and with 
richer gifts ; and God said to Balaam : Go 
with them ; yet the word which I shall say 
to thee, that shalt thou do. 

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and 
saddled his ass and went with the princes of 
Moab. And God's anger was kindled 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



129 



because Balaam loved the wages of unright- 
eousness, and the angel of the Lord stood in 
the way for an adversary against him. And 
the ass saw the Angel of the Lord standing 
in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand ; 
and the ass turned aside out of the way, and 
went into the field ; and Balaam smote the 
ass to turn her into the way. 

But the Angel of the Lord stood in a path, 



and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he 
smote the ass with a staff. 

And the Lord opened the mouth of the 
ass, and she said to Balaam : What have 1 
done unto thee, that thou has smitten me 
these three times ? And Balaam said to the 
ass, because thou has mocked me; I wish 
there were a sword in my hand, for then I 
would kill thee. Then the Lord opened the 




BALAAM MET BY THE 

shut in by vineyard walls on each side. 
And when the ass saw the Angel of the 
Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall and 
crushed Balaam's foot against the wall ; and 
he smote her again. And the Angel of the 
Lord went further and stood in a narrow 
place, where was no way to turn either to the 
rieht hand or to the left. And when the ass 
saw the Angel, she fell down under Balaam ; 
9 



ANGEL OF THE LORD. 

eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the 
Lord standing in the way, and his sword 
drawn in his hand ; and Balaam bowed 
himself and fell flat to the ground, and said 
to the Angel of the Lord, I have sinned; 
now therefore, if it displease thee, I will 
return. And the Angel of the Lord said to 
Balaam, Go with the men, but only the word 
that I shall speak unto thee, shalt thou speak. 




130 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



131 



So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 
And on the morrow Balak took Balaam, and 
brought him up into a high place that thence 
he might see the utmost part of the people. 
And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here 
seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen 
and seven rams. And Balaam did as Balak 
had spoken ; and they offered on every altar 
a bullock and a ram. And the Lord put a 
word in Balaam's mouth and he said, From 
Aram hath Balak brought me, the king of 
Moab, from the mountains of the earth, 
saying. Come, curse me Jacob, and come, 
defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God 
hath not cursed, or how shall I defv, whom 
the Lord hath not defied? 

The Anger of Balak. 

And Balaam seeing the vision of the 
Almighty and falling into a trance, said 
again, I shall see him, but not now, I shall 
behold him, but not nigh ; there shall come 
a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise 
out of Israel, and shall smite the princes of 
Moab and overthrow all the sons of tumult. 
Let me die the death of the righteous and 
let my last end be like his. 

And Balak's anger was kindled against 
Balaam, and he smote his hands together, 
and said to Balaam, I called thee to curse 
mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast 
altogether blessed them these three times ; 
therefore now flee thou to thy place. And 
he sent him away without any of the silver 
and gold which Balaam wanted so much. 
Notwithstanding, Balaam afterwards craftily 
advised the Moabites and Midianites to 
entice Israel to practice idolatrous rites ; this 
plan was so successful, that a plague, which 
the Lord sent, destroyed 24,000 of the 
people. Hence the Lord commanded Moses 
to make war against the Moabites and 
Midianites and they slew their kings and 



people; and Balaam also they slew with the 
edge of the sword. 

The Last Days of Moses. 

Moses knew that he could not lead the 
people into the land of Canaan. He must 
die as the Lord had said, for he had sinned 
at the rock. He feared the Israelites would 
not think how they had been led through the 
desert. He talked to them for the last time 
and brought back to their minds all the 
things God had done for them. 

He asked the Lord to choose a man to 
take his place, lest if they had no guide to 
lead them they might be lost as sheep with 
no shepherd. The Lord said Joshua should 
lead them. Moses told the people they 
must keep the laws of God and teach their 
children to do so at all times ; and they must 
talk to them of God, so that they would 
learn to love him. 

And when the Lord led them into Canaan 
and gave them all the great cities that they 
had not built, and wells that they had not 
digged, and vineyards and olive trees which 
they had not planted, they must think of the 
Lord and how much he had done for them. 
He had led them for long years and fed them, 
and their clothes had not grown old and 
their feet had not been sore by the way. 
He had brought them out of that place to 
this good land full of streams, where the 
wheat grew and grapes and all sorts of fruit. 
They should not want. They would find 
brass and iron if they dug in the ground and 
could make tools and all sorts of things for 
their use. 

Their flocks and herds would do well in 
that land, and they would grow rich, but 
they must not think they had gained all these 
things by their own might. They must keep 
in mind that the Lord their God had given 
them all. If they did not serve him, but 




MOSES REHEARSING THE COMMANDMENTS TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. 






WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



133 



took other gods, they would be served in 
the same way as he meant to serve the 
nations that lived in sin. Moses told them 
they must soon cross the Jordan and the 
Lord would lead them. The people of the 
land might try to keep them out but he 
would make them win. Though they had 
sinned in the desert, he was still their God. 



found there. The people of Canaan had set 
up their false gods on hills and under trees 
in all parts of their land. They had built 
altars and burnt up their own children on 
them. Moses told the children of Israel 
that they must pull down all these places 
and break the false gods. And if one of the 
men of the land should try to make them 




THE LORD APPEARING TO MOSES AND JOSHUA IN THE PILLAR OF A CLOUD. 



The land of Canaan was a place of streams. 
Egypt had one river, the Nile, which flowed 
over its banks once a year so that the fields 
near it bore much fruit. But the soil far off 
was dry, and men had to carry water to it, 
so that the grass and plants might grow. 
In Canaan rain fell and grain and grass grew 
well, and vines and all sorts of fruit were 



kneel down to these false gods, he must be 
stoned to death. 

If there was a poor man among them, they 
must lend him what he needed and the Lord 
would bless them. They must keep some 
cities where one who had killed a man by 
chance might hide. If he had meant to kill 
the man for hate, then he must be put to 



134 



WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 



death. But if the thing was done by chance/ 
and the friends of the dead man chased him 
to kill him, he might fly to one of these cities. 
When he reached the gate, he must tell the 
guard what he had done. Then they would 
give him a place to stay. If the friends of 
the man whom he had killed came to ask 
for him, they would not give him up, as he 
had not meant to do wrong. But if a man 
who meant to kill came there, they were not 
to let him in, but he must be put to death for 
his sin. 

When they lived in the land each man 
must take the first of his grain and the first 
fruit that was ripe and bring them to the 
Lord's house. The priest would take these 
gifts and set them down in front of the altar. 
The man must say, I have brought the first 
fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast 
given me. And he must pray to the Lord 
and leave all his gifts there for the use of the 
priests. The priests were to have no fields 
to raise grain or fruit of their own, so the 
first fruits of the land must be brought to 
them each year. 

Stones and Clay. 

Moses told them that on the day they 
should go over Jordan they must raise a 
great pile of stones, and on these they must 
smear soft clay, and write all the laws of 
God on this clay. When it grew hard, all 
who went by could read the law of God on it. 

Moses told them that if they kept the law 
of God, he would bless them and all that 
was theirs. Their foes would flee from them. 
But if they sinned, their fields should not 
bring forth grain, for locusts should eat it, 
and their vines would not bring forth grapes. 
He would send plagues on them and foes 
who would not spare them but would make 
them slaves. 



And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, 
thy days approach that thou must die : call 
Joshua, and present yourselves in the taber- 
nacle of the congregation, that I may give 
him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, 
and presented themselves in the tabernacle 
of the congregation . And the Lord appeared 
in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud : and 
the pillar of the cloud stood over the door 
of the tabernacle. 

And the Lord spake unto Moses that 
selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this 
mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which 
is in the land of Moab, that is over against 
Jericho ; and behold the land of Canaan, 
which I give unto the children of Israel for 
a possession : and die in the mount whither 
thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy 
people ; as Aaron thy brother died in mount 
Hor, and was gathered unto his people : 
because ye trespassed against me among the 
children of Israel at the waters of Meribah- 
Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin ; because ye 
sanctified me not in the midst of the children 
of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before 
thee ; but thou shalt not go thither unto the 
land which I give the children of Israel. 
And Moses went up from the plains of 
Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top 
of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And 
the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, 
unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of 
Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of 
Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, 
and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the 
city of palm trees, unto Zoar. And the 
Lord said unto him, This is the land which I 
sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto 
Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed : 
I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, 
but thou shalt not go over thither. 

So Moses the servant of the Lord died. 



CHAPTER X. 



B. C. 



I45 1 ' 



Story of Joshua— Arrival of the Israelites at Jordan — Crossing toe River — Rahab 
and the Spies — Capture of Jericho — Battle at the City of Ai — Achan Stoned 
for Theft — Men in Old Clothes — A Furious Hailstorm — Joshua's Great Victory — 
The People Choose Whom they will Serve, 




MONG the chil- 
dren of Israel that 
came out of 
Egypt there was 
a certain Hoshea, 
the son of Nun, 
of the tribe of 
Ephraim. Moses 
had seen that he 
was valiant and 
skillful, and when 
the Amalekites 
came out against 
Israel at Rephidim, to slay them on their 
journey to Sinai, Moses appointed him to be 
captain of the host. So he went and defeated 
the Amalekites in a great battle; and after 
that Moses called him by the name of 
Jehoshua or Joshua, which is, being inter- 
preted, The Lord's Salvation. 

And when Moses went up into the moun- 
tain of Sinai to receive the law from God, 
Joshua went with Aaron and the elders so 
far as it was lawful for them to go; and 
while he was in the mount Joshua waited for 
him. From the day when Moses came down 
from the mount Joshua became his minister, 
attending on him continually, and dwelling 
in his tent. Also he was one of the seventy 
judges whom Moses appointed to do justice 
among the people. 



Very zealous was he for the honor of hb 
chief; for when two of the seventy, Eldad 
and Medad by name, tarried in the camp, 
and prophesied there (but the rest prophesied 
in the tabernacle), he said, My lord Moses, 
forbid them. But Moses answered, Enviest 
thou for my sake? Would God that all the 
Lord's people were prophets, and that the 
Lord would put his Spirit upon them ! 

In the second year after the departure ol 
Israel from the land of Egypt, the people 
approached to the borders of the land which 
the Lord had promised to their fathers 
to give them ; and they pitched their camp 
in the wilderness of Paran. Then Moses, as 
we have seen, chose twelve men, one out of 
each tribe, that they might go as spies and 
see the land what it was, and the people that 
dwelt therein, whether they were strong or 
weak, few or many, and whether they dwelt 
in tents or in strongholds. Be of good cour- 
age, he said to them, and bring of the fruit 
of the land. 

They Went Through all the Land. 

And the time at which the men were senl 
was the time of the first ripe grapes. Joshua 
was chosen from the tribe of Ephraim, and 
Caleb from the tribe of Judah. So these 
twelve men went throughout the land from 
the wilderness of the south to Mount Lebanon 
in the north. And when they came to the 

135 



136 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



brook Eshcol (which is near to Hebron) they 
cut down one of the clusters of grapes, and 
carried it upon a staff between two. Also 
they brought figs and pomegranates from 
the land. The time which they spent upon 
their journey was forty days. And when they 
came back to the place whence they had 
come, and showed to the people the fruits 
which they had brought, thus they said to 
Moses, We came unto the land whither thou 
sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk 
and honey ; and this is the fruit of it. But 
the people that dwell in the land are strong, 
great and mighty nations — the Amalekites 
in the south, and the Amorites in the 
mountains, and the Canaanites by the sea 
and by the banks of Jordan, and the children 
of Anak that are giants. We are but grass- 
hoppers in their sight and in our own. But 
Caleb said, Let us go up at once and possess 
the land ; for we are well able to overcome 
the people that inhabit it. Joshua also said, 
Let us go up. But the people believed the 
ten spies rather than Caleb and Joshua, and 
they wept, saying, Would God that we had 
died in the land of Egypt or in the wilderness. 

The People Murmur. 

And they murmured against Moses and 
Aaron, and said to one another, Let us make 
us a captain that he may lead us back into 
the land of Egypt. But Caleb and Joshua 
ran among them with their clothes rent, and 
cried, The land which we passed through to 
search it, is an exceeding good land. If the 
Lord have a favor for us, He will bring us 
into it ; and as for the people that dwell 
therein, their strength is gone from them, for 
the Lord is with us : therefore fear them not. 
But the people ran upon them, and would 
have stoned them with stones had they not 
feared the glory of the Lord, for the glory 
appeared at that time above the tabernacle. 



Then the Lord was wroth with the people,, 
and said that all that murmured, from 
twenty years old and upward, should perish 
in the wilderness ; and the ten spies that gave 
the evil report died of the plague. Only 
Caleb and Joshua were left alive. 

But when forty years were accomplished 
from the coming out of Egypt, the children 
of Israel approached the Promised Land > 
coming to it from the east. First they sub- 
dued the country that is eastward of Jordan, 
the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and 
Og, the king of Bashan. Then came the 
time when Moses must die, for the Lord had 
said to him, Thou shalt see the land with 
thine eyes, but thou shalt not enter it. Thou 
shalt not go over Jordan. 

But before he died he chose Joshua to be 
the leader of the people after him, for so the 
Lord commanded him. And he gave him a 
charge, and said, Be strong and of a good 
courage, for thou shalt bring the children of 
Israel into the land which the Lord sware 
unto them, and the Lord shall be with thee. 
Then Moses went up to the top of Pisgah, 
that he might see the land and die. And 
Joshua and Phinehas the priest went .with 
him on his way ; but they saw him not when 
he died, nor did they know where he was 
buried, save that he was buried in the valley 
in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor. 

Told to go Over the River Jordan. 

When Moses was dead, the Lord said to 
Joshua, Arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and 
all this people, unto the land which I do 
give them. Every place that the sole of 
your feet shall tread upon have I given you, 
from Lebanon unto the great river, the 
river Euphrates, and westward to the great 
sea. Be strong and of a good courage ; be 
not afraid, for the Lord thy God is with thee 
withersoever thou goest 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



137 



Now the people had pitched their camp 
in the plains of Moab, near to the place 
where Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. And 
they looked across the river to the great city 
of Jericho. Then Joshua commanded the 
chief men of the tribes that they should bid 



and your cattle, on this side of Jordan ; but 
ye yourselves shall go up armed before your 
brethren, and help them until the Lord shall 
have given your brethren rest as he hath 
given it to you. And they said, All that 
thou commandest us, we will do, and wither- 




MOSES GIVING HIS CHARGE TO JOSHUA. 



the people make provision of food, for that 
within three days they should go over Jordan. 
Also, he spoke to the tribes of Reuben 
and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh — 
for these had had their portion given to them 
on the eastern side of Jordan — and said, Ye 
shall leave your wives, and your children, 



soever thou sendest us, we will go. After 
this Joshua sent from the camp two men to 
spy out the city of Jericho. And the men 
entered into the city, and lodged in the 
house of a woman that was called Rahab. 
But they were seen coming in, and it was 
told the king of Jericho, Behold, there came 



138 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



in men of the children of Israel to-night to 
search out the country. And the king sent 
to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that 
are lodging in thy house, for they are come 
to search out all the country. Rahab said 
to the king's messengers, It is true that there 



and hidden them under the stalks of flax, 
which she had laid there to dry. As for the 
king's messengers, they pursued after the 
spies along the road that led to the fords of 
Jordan ; and the gate of the city was shut 
after them. 




RAHAB AND THE SPIES. 



came men unto me, but I knew not whence 
they were. And at the time of the shutting 
of the gate, when it was dark, they departed ; 
but wither they went, I know not. Pursue 
after them quickly, for ye shall overtake them. 
But she had brought the men up to the roof, * 



But before the spies lay down to sleep 
Rahab came up to them upon the roof, and 
said, I know that the Lord hath given you 
this land, and that all the inhabitants thereof 
are afraid. We have heard how your God 
divided the waters of the Red Sea before you, 



THE STORY 

and how you have utterly destroyed the two 
kings of the Amorites on the other side of 
Jordan ; and when we heard it our hearts 
melted, and there remained no courage in 
any of us. Now, therefore, swear by the 
Lord that, as I have showed you kindness, 



OF JOSHUA. 139 

business. And when the Lord shall have 
given us this land, we will deal kindly and 
truly with you and yours. Then she let 
them down by the window of her house, for 
her house was upon the town wall. And 
she said, Fly to the mountains, lest the 




THE HEBREWS CROSSING THE JORDAN. 



so ye will show kindness to me and to my 
father's house ; and that ye will save alive 
my father, and my mother, and my brethren, 
and my sisters, and all that they have. And 
give me a true token that ye will so do. 

Then the men answered, We pledge our 
life for your life, if only ye betray not our 



pursuers meet you, for they have pursued 
after you even to the fords of the Jordan. 
Hide yourselves in the mountains for three 
days, until the pursuers shall have returned; 
and then ye can go to your own people. 

The men answered her, We will keep the 
oath which thou hast made us swear to thee 



140 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



And this shall be the token. When we 
shall have come into the land, bind this 
scarlet cord in the window from which thou 
lettest us down. Bring also thy father, and 
thy mother, and thy brethren, and thy sisters, 
and all thy father's household into the house. 
If any go out into the street, his blood shall 
be on his own head if he perish ; but whoso- 
ever shall be with thee in the house, his 
blood shall be on our heads, if any man do 
him harm. But if thou makest known our 
business we are quit of this our oath. 

And she said, According unto your words, 
so be it. And she bound the scarlet line in 
the window of her house. But the men fled 
to the mountain, and hid themselves there 
three days, and after that they returned to 
Joshua to the camp, and said, Jericho is a 
strong city, but the Lord has delivered all 
the land into our hands, for the inhabitants 
faint for fear because of us. 

The Great Host Crossing the River. 

After this the host of the Israelites marched 
to Jordan. Now at this season of the year 
Jordan is swollen by the melting of the snows 
of Lebanon, and overflows all its banks, 
and the people encamped by Jordan that 
night. And Joshua sent officers throughout 
the host, who commanded the people in 
these words : When ye see the priests take 
up the ark of the covenant, follow it ; but 
leave a space of a thousand yards' measure 
between you and it ; come not nearer to it, 
that ye may know the way that ye must go, 
for such a way ye have not gone before. 
And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify 
yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do 
wonders among you. 

When the morrow was come, Joshua said 
to the priests, Take up the ark and pass over 
before the people. Then the priests took up 
the ark, and went before ; and all the people 



left their tents and followed them, leaving a 
space as had been commanded. And when 
they that bare the ark came to Jordan, and 
their feet were dipped in the brim of the 
waters, then the waters that came from above 
stood, rising up in a heap, so that the channel 
was dried from the city of Adam downwards 
to Jericho, a distance of about eighteen miles £ 
and the waters below, towards the Salt Sea, 
were wholly cut off. So all the people 
crossed the river dry-shod, the priests that 
bore the ark standing in the middle of the 
river till all the people had crossed over. 

First went the men of Reuben and of Gad 
and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ready 
armed for battle, about forty thousand 
soldiers ; and after them the rest of the 
multitude. And when they had all passed 
over, Joshua commanded the priests, saying, 
Come up out of Jordan. And it came to 
pass when they had come up out of the 
river, as soon as their feet touched the dry 
land, the waters of Jordan returned to their 
places, and flowed over all their banks a$ 
they had done before. 

Where They Pitched Their Camp. 

Of this crossing there were set up, as 
Joshua commanded, according to the word 
of the Lord, two memorials. The first was 
in this manner : Twelve men, one out of 
each tribe, took up great stones out of Jordan, 
from the place where the priests' feet stood 
firm, and set them up on the other bank, in 
the place where the host was to lodge that 
night. And the second memorial was this : 
There were set up in like manner twelve 
stones in the midst of the river in the place 
where the priests had stood with the ark. 

That night the people pitched their camp 
in the plain that was called Gilgal. This 
plain was distant five miles from Jordan and 
two miles eastward from Jericho. Here they 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



141 



fortified a camp, and here they kept the 
feast of passover to the Lord. And this was 
the second passover that Israel kept after 
they came out of the land of Egypt. Once 
had they kept it when they were encamped 
under Mount Sinai, but not again during the 
eight-and-thirty years of their wanderings in 
the wilderness. And on the morrow after 
the passover the people ate unleavened bread 

mm. 



And the man answered, Nay, but as captain 
of the Lord's host am I come. Then Joshua 
fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, 
and said, What saith my Lord unto his 
servant? And the captain of the Lord's 
host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from 
off thy foot, for the place whereon thou 
standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Then 
the angel told Joshua how he should take 




-of the old corn of the land. From that day 
they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan, 
and the manna ceased. 

And Joshua went up to see the city of 
Jericho, and to devise how it might be 
taken. And as he looked he had a vision — 
a man standing over against him with a drawn 
sword in his hand. Then Joshua went unto 
him, and said, Art thou for us or against us ? 



The manner of taking 



THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSHUA. 

the city of Jericho, 
it was this. 

On the first day of the week the whole 
host of Israel, armed and equipped for battle, 
marched round the wall. After the host 
came seven priests blowing on rams' horns, 
and after these, again, the ark, carried on the 
shoulders of priests. Behind the ark came a 
company from the tribe of Dan, for the men 



142 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



of Dan furnished always the rear-guard of 
the army. This was done day after day for 
six days. No shouting was there or cry of 
battle. Only the priests blew continually 
with the trumpets. And on the seventh day, 
which was the Sabbath, the host made this 



Thus Jericho was taken, and all that was 
in it was destroyed, save only the vessels of 
gold and silver and brass and iron. These 
were brought into the treasury of the Lord. 
And Joshua laid a curse upon any that 
should build the city again ; and the curse 




compass of the walls seven times. Six times 
they made it in silence, but the seventh time, 
when it was now the time of sunset and the 
Sabbath was near to its end, all the people 
shouted together, and the wall fell down, so 
that the army could go up into the city 
without hindrance. 



FALLING OF THE WALLS OF JERICHO. 

was this : that his eldest son should die whe * 
he laid the foundation, and his youngest whei 
he set up the gates, and so finished the work 
But when Jericho and its people were 
utterly destroyed, Rahab and her household 
were saved, as the spies whom she saved 
from death had sworn unto her. Rahab was 




TOSHUA CAPTURING THE CITY OF AI. 



143 



144 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA 



married afterwards to Salmon, chief prince of 
the tribe of Judah. She had a son named 
Boaz, and Boaz was the father of Obed, and 
Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father 
of David. 

The Israelites Defeated. 

Now there stood some eight miles westward 
from Jericho the city of Ai. This city Joshua 
had it in his mind to take ; and he sent men 
to spy out the place. These brought back 
the report that the place was small, saying to 
Joshua, Make not all the people to go up. 
Let about two or three thousand go up and 
smite the place, for the inhabitants are but 
few. This Joshua did, but as the Israelites 
went up the men of Ai sallied out upon them. 
And they, not looking to be attacked, turned 
and fled, and the men of Ai pursued them, 
and slew some six-and-thirty as they fled, 
but the rest escaped to the camp. 

Great was the dismay among the people at 
this defeat. As for Joshua, he rent his 
clothes and fell to the earth upon his face 
before the ark from morning till evening. 
So did the elders of the people, and they put 
dust upon their heads. And Joshua cried to 
the Lord, Why hast thou brought this people 
over Jordan to deliver them into the hands 
of the Amorites ? For when the people of 
the land shall hear that we have fled in the 
battle before the men of Ai, they will 
surround us and destroy us. 

But the Lord answered him thus, Get thee 
up ; why liest thou upon thy face ? Israel 
has sinned, for they have taken of the 
accursed thing. 

So the next day Joshua bade all the people 
pass before him by their tribes and families 
and houses. From the tribes the tribe of 
Judah was taken, and from the tribe of 
Judah the house of the Zarhites, and from 
the house of Zarhites the family of Zabdi, 



and, last, from the family of Zabdi a certain 
Achan. Then Joshua said to Achan, My son, 
make confession to God, and tell me now 
what thou hast done. Hide it not from me. 
Achan answered, I have sinned against 
the Lord God of Israel. I saw among the 
spoils of Jericho a goodly mantle from Baby- 
Ion, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a 
wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels. These 
I hid in the earth under my tent, the garment 
above, and the gold and silver under it. 

Achan Stoned to Death. 

xiien Joshua sent messengers, and they 
ran unto the tent, and found the things as 
Achan had said. Then Joshua said, Why 
hast thou troubled us ? the Lord shall 
trouble thee this day. And Israel stoned 
Achan with stones that he died ; and his 
whole house and all his possessions were 
destroyed. In the place where this was 
done was raised a great heap of stones, and 
the place was called from that day the Valley 
of Trouble. 

After this Joshua and the people took 
courage again, and went up against Ai. 
But first he set an ambush of five thousand 
men in the valley between Ai and Bethel (for 
Bethel is two miles to the westward of Ai), 
and agreed with them that he and the rest 
of the host should go up against the city 
openly from the eastward, and make a 
pretence of flight. And when we flee, said 
he, and the men of Ai pursue us, do ye rise 
up and take the city. 

When the king of Ai saw the host of 
Israel, for it had taken its place on the other 
side of the valley, he and his people went out 
against it, knowing nothing of the ambush 
which had been laid on the other side of his 
city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if 
they were beaten before the king of Ai and 
his people, and fled by the way of the 




THE INHABITANTS OF AI WITNESSING THE DEFEAT OF THEIR ARMY. 



10 



145 



46 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



wilderness — that is to say, towards Jericho 
and Jordan. 

There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel ; 
all pursued after Joshua ; and the gates were 
open. Then Joshua lifted up his spear, and 
pointed it towards Ai ; for this had been 
agreed upon for a signal. Then the men 
that lay in ambush rose up and entered the 
city, and set it on fire. And when Joshua 
and the host saw the smoke of the city rising 
up to heaven, they turned against the men 
ofAi. 

At the same time they who had taken the 
city came down against them from behind. 
So the men of Ai were taken in the midst of 
Israel, with the host on one side and the 
men of the ambush on the other. None 
could escape. As for the king, he was taken 
alive ; him Joshua hanged upon a tree. 
When the sun was set Joshua commanded 
that they should take down his body from 
the tree and cast it before the gate of the 
city, and raise over it a great heap of stones. 

A Shrewd Trick. 

When the kings of the Canaanites heard 
how Jericho and Ai had been destroyed, they 
gathered themselves together with one accord 
to fight against Israel ; but the men of one 
of the cities of the Hivites, Gibeon by name, 
bethought them of a device by which they 
might save themselves. They sent ambas- 
sadors to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal ; for 
Joshua had led the host back to the camp. 
The men took old sacks upon their asses, 
and the bottles of skin in which they carried 
their wine had been torn and sewn again, and 
their shoes were patched, and their garments 
old, and their bread dry and mouldy. In 
this plight they came to Gilgal, and said to 
Joshua, We are come from a far country : 
now therefore make a league with us. 

Joshua said to them, Peradventure ye dwell 



near us; how then shall we make a league 
with you ? for our God hath forbidden us to 
make leagues with the people of this country. 
Tell us now who are ye, and whence do ye 
come? 

The Gibeonites answered, Thy servants are 
come from a very far country because of the 
name of the Lord thy God. For we have 
heard the fame of him and all that he did in 
Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings 
of the Amorites beyond Jordan. Therefore 
our elders and all the inhabitants of our 
country said to us, Take food with you for 
your journey, and go to meet them, and say 
to them, We are your servants : therefore now 
make a league with us. See now this our 
bread that we took hot for our provision out 
of our houses on the day we came forth is 
dry and moldy; and these bottles were new, 
and now they are torn; and our garments 
and our shoes are become old by reason of 
our very long journey. 

Then Joshua and the elders took of the 
food which the Gibeonites offered them in 
token of friendship; and Joshua made a 
league with them, and the elders confirmed 
it with an oath. 

What Joshua Did with Them. 

But three days afterwards they heard that 
they were their neighbors and dwelt among 
them. Then Joshua sent an army from the 
camp to Gibeon, which came to it on the 
third day. With Gibeon were confederate 
three cities — Chephirah, and Beeroth, and 
Kirjath-jearim. The people were wroth with 
the princes because they had made a league 
with these cities. 

But the princes said, We have sworn to 
them by the Lord God of Israel; therefore 
we may not touch them. This will we do; 
we will let them live, lest wrath come upon 
us. because of the oath which we sware unto 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



147 



them. But we will make them hewers of 
wood and drawers of water to all the people. 
Then Joshua said to the Gibeonites,Where- 
fore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very 
far from you ; when in truth ye dwell among 
us? Therefore ye shall be bondsmen for- 



we did this thing. But now we are in thy 
hand; as it seemeth right and good unto 
thee to do unto us, do. And Joshua did as 
he had said. 

And when Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem ; 
heard how the Gibeonites had made peace 




JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL. 



even Ye shall hew wood and draw water 
for us, especially for the house of our God. 
The Gibeonites answered, We were afraid. 
For we had heard that the Lord your God 
had commanded his servant Moses to destroy 
all the inhabitants of the land. Therefore 



with Israel, he was greatly troubled, for 
Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal 
cities. He sent therefore to the other kings 
that were confederate with him, that is to say, 
the kings of Hebron, of Jarmuth, of Lachish, 
and of Eglon ; and they and all their hosts 



148 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



went up, and encamped against Gibeon, and 
made war upon it. 

Then the Gibeonites sent in haste to 
Joshua, saying, The kings of the Amorites 
that dwell in the mountains are gathered 
together against us; tarry not therefore to 
come up and save us and help us. So 
Joshua and the bravest of the host came up 
from the camp at Gilgal. All night they 
marched, for Gibeon was distant fifteen miles 
from Gilgal, but the Amorites knew nothing 
of their coming. And when they came up 
from out of the valley on to the plain before 
Gibeon, the enemy was sore dismayed, and 
turned their backs, and fled. 

Pursuing the Enemy. 

Some of them fled to Beth-horon, and 
some to their own cities. Those that took 
the road to Beth-horon fled with all speed 
down the pass that leads from Beth-horon 
the Upper to Beth-horon the Lower. And 
as they were on the way, Israel following 
after them, a great hail-storm fell on them. 
They were more that died from the hail- 
stones than they that were slain by the 
sword. And when Joshua saw the Amorites 
fleeing down the pass, he feared lest the sun 
should go down before Israel had made an 
end of destroying their enemy. Therefore 
he cried aloud, Sun, stand thou still upon 
Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of 
Ajalon. And it was so that the light failed 
not the children of Israel till they had 
avenged themselves on their enemies. 

All the way to Azekah did Israel pursue 
the Amorites; and as they pursued, it was 
told Joshua that the five kings had hidden 
themselves in a cave at Makkedah. But 
Joshua would not suffer the people to turn 
aside nor to cease from their pursuit. Roll, 
he said, great stones to the door of the cave, 
and set a guard over it; but stay ye not, but 



pursue after your enemies, and smite the 
hindmost of them. Suffer them not to enter 
into their cities, for the Lord your God hath 
delivered them into your hand. 

So the people stayed not from the pursuit; 
nevertheless some of the Amorites escaped 
into their fortified cities. After this the 
people returned to Joshua to the camp in 
peace. None dared to say a word against 
any of them. 

Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the 
cave, and bring the five kings out of the cave 
to me. So they opened the mouth of the 
cave, and brought them out. And he said 
to his captains and chief men of war, Come 
near and put your feet on the necks of these 
men. So they came, and put their feet on 
the necks of the kings. And Joshua said, 
Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of 
good courage ; for thus shall the Lord do 
unto all your enemies against whom ye fight. 

Horses and Chariots. 

Then he commanded that the kings should 
be slain and hanged upon five trees. At 
sunset he bade his people to take down the 
dead bodies from the trees, and cast them 
into the cave wherein they had hidden them- 
selves, and roll a stone to the mouth of the 
cave. When Joshua had subdued all the 
country of the south he returned to the camp 
at Gilgal, and all Israel with him. 

When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard these 
things, he sent to the kings of the north 
country, and of the plains that lie to the 
westward of the sea, now the Sea of Galilee, 
and many others throughout the land, and 
called them to fight against Israel. 

So they assembled their armies by the 
waters of Merom, a very great multitude, 
even as the sand that is on the seashore for 
multitude. Horses and chariots also had 
they very many. Now of these the children 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



149 



of Israel had none ; nor indeed had they seen 
them in battle, for the Canaanites of the 
south were wont to fight on foot. 

And the Lord said to Joshua, Be not 
afraid of them, for I will deliver them into 
thine hand. And Joshua went up suddenly 
from Gilgal, and all the men of war with him, 
and he fell upon the host of Jabin as it lay 



lame; for so it had been commanded to 
Joshua, lest perchance the Israelites should 
seek to use them for war to their own harm. 
After this Joshua returned to Hazor, and 
took it, and burnt it with fire. This only of all 
the cities of the north did Joshua burn with 
fire, because in those days it was the head of 
all the kingdoms of that region. Thus 




JOSHUA DIVIDING THE LAND. 



by the waters of Merom, taking them 
unawares. The Lord delivered them into 
the hand of Israel. A great multitude were 
slain, but some escaped to Sidon, and some 
to Sarepta, and some to Mizpeh, which is 
/under Hermon. All that were overtaken in 
the flight were slain, and all the chariots 
burnt with fire, and all the horses were made 



Joshua conquered the Canaanites in two 
great battles — the tribes of the south in the 
Pass of Beth-horon, and the tribes of the 
north by the Lake of Merom. And both 
these battles were fought in the year in 
which the children of Israel crossed the 
Jordan ; but the land was not subdued 
till seven full years had passed. Nor even 



150 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



then was it wholly conquered; for the 
Philistines dwelt in their five cities by the sea, 
and the Jebusites held the citadel of Jeru- 
salem, and the kings of the northern 
Canaanites set up their dominion again in 
Hazor, and elsewhere also the Canaanites 
dwelt among the children of Israel. 

Israel's Inheritance. 

At the end of the seven years Joshua 
divided the land among the tribes; and 
while he did so, Caleb came to him, and 
said, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord 
said unto Moses the man of God concerning 
me and thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years 
old was I when Moses the servant of the 
Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy 
out the land; and I brought him word again 
as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my 
brethren that went with me made the heart 
of the people melt for fear of their report; 
but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 

And Moses sware on that day, saying, 
Surely the land whereon thy feet have trod- 
den shall be thine inheritance, and thy chil- 
dren's for ever, because thou hast wholly 
followed the Lord my God. And now, be- 
hold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he 
said, these forty-and-five years, even since 
the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while 
the children of Israel wandered in the wilder- 
ness; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore 
and five years old. And yet I am as strong 
this day as I was in the day that Moses sent 
me: as my strength was then, even so is 
my strength now, to go out and to come 
in. Now therefore give me this mountain, 
whereof the Lord spake in that day; for my 
brethren that went with me to espy the land 
spake of the children of Anak that were there, 
and of the strong cities in which they dwelt, 
and made the heart of the people to melt with 
their report But if the Lord be with me, I 



shall be able to drive them out as the Lord 
said. Then Joshua blessed Caleb, and gave 
him Hebron for an inheritance. 

Cities of Refuge. 

When the land had been divided, Joshua 
further appointed six cities, three on either 
side of Jordan, to which any man might flee 
who should kill another unwittingly and 
unawares. Also to the tribe of Levi forty- 
eight cities were given out of the portions of 
the tribes. 

So Joshua rested from his labors, dwelling 
in Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim, for this 
had been given to him for his inheritance; 
and among all the portions of the children 
of Israel there was none humbler than his. 
And when fifteen years had passed, and he 
knew that his end was now drawing nigh, 
he sent for the elders of Israel to his house 
at Timnath, and said to them, I am old and 
stricken in age. And ye have seen what 
the Lord hath done for you, how he has 
driven out the nations of the land before you, 
and divided the land unto you for an 
inheritance. Keep, therefore, all that is 
written in the book of the law of Moses; 
turn not aside from it to the right hand or to 
the left. 

Go not ye among the nations that remain ; 
make no mention of their gods, but cleave 
umo the Lord your God, as ye have done 
unto this day. If ye will do so, then one of 
you shall chase a thousand, for it is the Lord 
your God that fighteth for you. But if ye 
go among these nations, and serve their 
gods, then shall they be snares and traps to 
you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns 
in your eyes, until ye perish from off the 
good land which the Lord your God hath 
given you. 

Also Joshua called an assembly of all 
Israel to Shechem. And wLen he had 



THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 



151 



brought to their minds the great things 
which the Lord had done for them — how he 
had brought them over the Red Sea, and 
destroyed the Amorites that dwelt on the 
other side of Jordan, and caused Balaam to 
bless them when Balak king of Moab would 
have had him curse them, and how he had 
given them the land of the seven nations 
westward of Jordan — then he said to them, 
Choose now whom ye will serve. Will ye 
serve the Lord, or will ye serve the gods 
whom your fathers served when they dwelt 
in Egypt, or the gods of the nations whom 
the Lord hath driven out before you ? As 
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 
All the people answered, God forbid that 
we should serve other gods ; we will serve 
the Lord who drove out the nations from 
before us, for he is the Lord our God. 



Joshua said, The Lord is a jealous God; 
if ye forsake him and serve other gods he 
will consume you, and do you hurt, as he 
hath done you good. And the people 
answered again, Nay ; but we will serve the 
Lord. Then Joshua said, Ye are witnesses 
against yourselves that ye have chosen the 
Lord to serve him. And the people said, 
We are witnesses. 

So Joshua made a covenant with the 
people ; and he wrote these words in a book, 
and laid the book up with the book of the 
law. Also he took a great stone and set it 
up under an oak that was by the tabernacle 
of the Lord, that it might be a memorial of 
this covenant for ever. This stone, he said, 
Shall be a witness unto us ; for it hath heard 
all the words of the Lord which he spake 
unto us. 



CHAPTER XL 



B. C. 1394. 

The King of Moab Slain — Deborah Judges the People — The Host of Sisera Scat 
tered — Gideon and the Angel — Choosing an Army — Three Hundred Warriors—^ 
Trumpets and Pitchers — A Great Victory — Gideon's Wicked Son — Capture of a 
City — Abimelech Killed by a Young Man. 

himself with a dagger, two-edged, and a 




HEN Joshua had now 
been dead some 
seventy years, and 
the children of 
Israel had corrupted 
themselves, making 
marriages with the 
remnant of the Ca- 
naanites that still 
dwelt among them, 
and being led away 
to worship their 
gods, Eglon, king 
of Moab, invaded their land. He crossed 
the river Jordan, bringing with him, besides 
his own people, many of the children of 
Ammon and of the Amalekites. There, on 
the east side of Jordan, among the palm- 
groves where Jericho had been, he estab- 
lished his dominion, making the children of 
Israel that dwelt in those parts pay tribute 
to him. 

But after eighteen years the Lord raised 
up a deliverer for his people, namely Ehud, 
the son of Gera, a man of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin. This Ehud was of good repute 
among his brethren, being counted to have 
in him something of the spirit of the 
prophets ; and they chose him to carry the 
tribute which they paid year by year to 
Eglon, king of Moab. Now he had armed 
152 



cubit long, which he carried on his right 
thigh, for his right hand was wasted with 
disease, and he could use his left only. 

So Ehud with his followers, for he had 
two servants with him, came to the fortress 
where the king dwelt ; and when he had left 
the tribute, he went back to Gilgal, to the 
place where the men of Moab kept the 
images of their gods, as though he would 
have worshipped there. He left his two 
servants in that place, and so returned to 
the king. Now Eglon, who was very fat, 
sat alone in his summer parlor, that for the 
sake of coolness was built on the roof of his 
house. 

Ehud said, I have a secret errand to thee, 
O king, making as though he had a message 
to deliver to him from the gods. The king 
said to his people, Keep silence. And all his 
people that were with him went out from his 
presence, and he was left alone. 

A Blow with a Dagger. 

Ehud said again, I have a message from 
God to thee. The king rose up from his 
seat to receive the message, as one who would 
show respect. Then Ehud put forth his left 
hand and drew the dagger from his right 
thigh, and thrust it into the king's heart. 
So deep did he thrust it in, that he could not 
draw it forth again. Then Ehud went forth 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



153 



by the private way, locking the doors of the 
parlor behind him. 

After a while the king's servants came, and 
found the doors of the parlor locked. For a 
long time they tarried, saying to themselves, 
The king would be alone. But when they 
had lost hope that this could be so, they took 
a key and opened the door ; and, behold, 
their lord was fallen dead upon the earth. 

But Ehud escaped while they tarried, and 
passed beyond the place of the images, and 
escaped to Seirath, which was in the land of 
Ephraim. There he blew a trumpet to call 
the people together ; and when the men of 
Ephraim knew that Eglon was dead, they 
came down from the mountain where they 
dwelt, and Ehud went before them. And he 
said unto them, Follow after me : for the 
Lord hath delivered your enemies the 
Moabites into your hands. 

They Could not Escape. 

So they went down, and took possession 
of the fords of Jordan that were between the 
land of Israel and the land of Moab, and 
suffered no man to pass over. 

But the Moabites, when they saw that their 
king was dead, would have fled into their 
own country, but they could not, for the men 
of Israel had possession of the fords. And 
the Israelites slew of them ten thousand men 
at that time, strong men and in good case, 
all of them, as if they had fed upon the fat of 
the land. After this the land had rest for four- 
score years. After Ehud was dead, Jabin, king 
of the Canaanites, who dwelt in Hazor, near to 
the waters of Merom, greatly oppressed the 
children of Israel. He had a host made up 
of men of many nations, whereof Sisera was 
captain. The children of Israel could not 
stand against him or shake off his yoke, for 
whereas he had nine hundred chariots of 
iron, they had neither shield nor spear. 



For twenty years did he oppress the 
people, till the land was utterly desolate. 
They that travelled through it went not by 
the highways, for these were beset by robbers, 
but by paths and byways ; and the women 
scarcely dared to draw water from the wells, 
or the shepherds to water their flocks, for 
fear of the soldiers that haunted them. 

At this time, in a certain valley between 
Ramah and Bethel, in the same place where 
Isaac had buried Deborah, the nurse of 
Rebekah his wife, there dwelt another 
Deborah, a prophetess, under a palm-tree, 
that was called the palm-tree of Deborah. 
To this place the people of Israel came up, 
and she judged their causes. 

An Army on Mount Tabor. 

Deborah sent to Barak the son of Abinoam, 
who dwelt in Kedesh, in the land of Naphtali, 
saying, Hath not the Lord God of Israel 
commanded thee, saying, Take with thee ten 
thousand men of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 
go with them to the top of Mount Tabor ; 
and I will draw to thee, to the river Kishon, 
Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his 
chariots and with all his multitude ? 

Barak said unto Deborah, If thou wilt go 
with me, then will I go ; but if thou wilt not 
go with me, then I will not go. Deborah 
answered, I will surely go with thee : 
nevertheless the journey that thou takest 
shall not be for thy honor, for the Lord will 
deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. 
So she arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 

Then Barak sent throughout the land of 
Israel, calling upon the people to follow him, 
that they might do battle together against 
the oppressors. Some there were that 
answered to the call from among the 
Ephraimites and the men of Benjamin, from 
Manasseh also, and the princes of Machir. 
The men of Reuben held council about the 



154 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



matter, but in the end did not come ; neither 
did they that dwelt in Gilead, nor they of 
Asher, nor they of Dan. But of all the 
tribes there were none that bore themselves 
so bravely as Zebulun and Naphtali : they 
were a people that bravely risked their lives 
unto the death. 

Now Heber the Kenite had separated 
himself from his people, and had pitched 
his tent near Mount Tabor. The Kenites 
were of the kindred of Hobab, the father-in- 
law of Moses; and they had kept the 
children of Israel company in their wanderings 
in the wilderness, and had crossed over 
Jordan with them, and dwelt in the wilderness 
of Judah. This Heber had made peace with 
King Jabin, and now certain of his people 
went and showed Sisera that Barak had gone 
up to Mount Tabor. 

Defeat of Sisera. 

Therefore Sisera gathered all his chariots 
together and all his host unto the river 
Kishon. This Kishon had its rise near to 
Mount Tabor, and thence flows through the 
plain till it falls into the Great Sea near to 
Mount Carmel. 

Then Deborah said to Barak, Up, for this 
is the day in which the Lord hath delivered 
Sisera into thine hand : is not the Lord gone 
out before thee ? So Barak came down from 
Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men after 
him. Then the Lord discomfited Sisera and 
all his chariots and all his host bef^ r e Barak. 
The very "stars in their courses fought 
against him." For a great storm o r rain 
and hail blew in their faces, so that tney 
could not see to shoot with their bows, and 
their hands were so benumbed with the cold 
that they could not strike with their swords. 
The Kishon also was so swollen with the 
rain that it swept them away. Many 
perished in the waters, and many were slain 



with the sword. So the host of Sisera was 
scattered before Israel, and all the kings of 
Canaan that had come to the help of Jabin 
king of Hazor. There was not a man left 
that was not slain or fled not. 

Hid in a Tent. 

Then Sisera, when he saw that the battle 
was lost, lighted down from his chariot, and 
fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the 
wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace 
between Heber and Jabin. But Barak 
pursued after the chariots and after the host 
till he came to their camp. When Jael saw 
Sisera she came out of her tent to meet him, 
and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to 
me ; fear not. And when he had turned in 
unto her in the tent, she covered him with a 
mantle. 

Sisera said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a 
little water to drink, for I am thirsty. 
Thereupon she opened the bottle of milk, 
newly taken from the flocks, that stood in 
the tent, and brought it to him in the best 
cup as to an honored guest. And when he 
had drunk she covered him again. 

He said to her, Stand in the door of the 
tent, and it shall be when any man doth come 
and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any 
man here ? that thou shalt say, No. 

But when he was asleep, Jael, Heber's 
wife, took in her left hand one of the great 
nails of iron wherewith the ropes of the tent 
were fastened, and in her right hand the 
hammer with which they were driven into 
the ground, and went softly unto him, and 
smote the nail through his temples fastening 
it into the ground. And he moved not, for 
he was fast asleep and weary. 

And, behold, as Barak pursued after 
Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said 
unto him, Come, and I will show thee the 
man whom thou seekest. And when he 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



155 



came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, 
and the nail was in his temples. So God 
subdued that day Jabin the king of Canaan 
before the children of Israel. 

The children of Israel did evil in the sight 
of the Lord, and he delivered them into the 
hand of the Midianites. For the space of 
seven years did the Midianites oppress them, 
so that they made places of refuge for 
themselves among the mountains, in the 
hollows of the watercourses, and in caves 
and in rocks that were steep and hard of 
access. Every year, when the men of Israel 
had sown their fields, and the fruits of the 
ground were now growing ready for the 
harvest, did the Midianites come up, and with 
them also the Amalekites and other tribes of 
the desert. 

They crossed the Jordan by Beth-shean, 
and made their encampment in the land, and 
destroyed all the increase of it. All the 
plain country they wasted from the valley of 
Jezreel as far as Gaza, and left no living 
creature on the face of the earth, neither 
goat, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up 
with their cattle and their tents. 

They were as locusts for multitude, for both 
they and their camels were without number ; 
and they entered the land to destroy it. Israel 
was greatly impoverished because of the 
Midianites, and the children of Israel cried 
unto the Lord. 

Gideon Threshing Wheat. 

And when they cried unto the Lord 
because of the Midianites, the Lord sent a 
prophet unto them, who said unto them : 

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I 
brought you up from the land of Egypt, and 
brought you forth out of the house of bond- 
age; and I delivered you out of the hand of 
the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all 
that oppressed you, and drove out the 



inhabitants of this land from before you, and 
gave you their land ; and I said unto you, 
I am the Lord your God ; fear not the gods 
of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : 
but ye have not obeyed my voice. 

For the Lord would have had them put 
away the false gods from among them, that 
so he might deliver them from the hand of 
their enemies. 

Now there dwelt in Ophrah of Manasseh 
a certain Joash, of the house of Abiezer. 
The Midianites had slain his sons, having 
taken them at Mount Tabor, where they 
had gone to meet the princes of Israel at 
the sanctuary that was on the top of the 
mount. Only Gideon was left to him. This 
Gideon was threshing wheat with a flail in 
the wine-press, doing it secretly for fear of 
the Midianites. 

What the Angel Said. 

There came an angel of the Lord and sat 
under the oak that was in Ophrah, and 
appeared unto him, and said, The Lord is 
with thee, thou mighty man of valor. 

Gideon said, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be 
with me, why then is all this befallen us ? 
And where are all his miracles that our fathers 
told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring 
you up out of Egypt ? But now the Lord 
hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the 
hand of the Midianites. 

The Lord said unto him by his angel, Go 
in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel 
from the hand of the Midianites. Have not 
I sent thee ? And Gideon said, Oh my 
Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel ? Behold, 
my family is the meanest in Manasseh, and 
I am the least in my father's house. 

The Lord said unto him, Surely I will be 
with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites 
as though they were but one man. And 
Gideon said unto the Lord, If I have found 



156 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



grace in thy sight, then show nie a sign that 
thou dost in truth talk with me. Depart not 
hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, 
and bring my meat-offering, and set it before 
/hee. Then Gideon went in and made 
ready a kid of the goats, and made unleav- 
ened cakes of flour: the flesh he put in a 
basket and the broth in a pot, and he brought 



semblance of a traveller, and touched the 
flesh and unleavened cakes, and there rose 
up fire out of the rock, and consumed the 
flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the 
Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 
And when Gideon perceived that he was 
indeed an Angel of the Lord, he said, Alas ? 
O Lord God ! because I have seen an Angel 




GIDEONS OFFERING BURNT BY FIRE FROM THE ROCK. 



out the offering unto the angel as he sat 
under the oak, and presented them. 

The Angel of Jehovah said unto him, 
Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and 
lay them upon the rock, and pour out the 
broth over the offering upon the rock. And 
Gideon did so. 

Then the Angel of the Lord put out the 
staff that was in his hand, for he had the 



of the Lord face to face. And the Lord 
said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not J 
thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built a. 
memorial of that which he had seen unto the 
Lord; and he called the name of the place 
Jehovah-Shalom, which being interpreted is, 
Jehovah send peace. 

And it came to pass that same night that 
the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



157 



young bullock, and the seven-year-old bul- 
lock also, and throw down the altar of Baal 
that thy father hath, and break down the idol 
that is by it. And put the stones of the 
altar and the wood of the idol on the 
bullocks, and so carry them to the top of 
the rock. There shalt thou build with the 
stones an altar to the Lord thy God, and 
lay the wood of the idol in order upon the 
altar, and slay the second bullock, and offer it 
for a burnt-offering with the wood of the idol. 

He Did it by Night. 

So Gideon took ten men of his servants, 
and did as the Lord had said unto him ; but 
because he feared the house of his father, 
even the sons of Abiezer, and the men of 
the city, for these were Amorites, he did the 
thing by night, and not by day. 

And when the men of the city rose up 
early in the morning, behold, the altar of 
Baal was cast down, and the idol that stood 
by it was cut down, and there was another 
altar built, and on this the seven-year-old 
bullock had been offered. And the men 
said one to another, Who hath done this 
thing? And so one said, Gideon the son of 
Joash hath done this thing. 

Then the men of the city said unto Joash, 
Bring out thy son that he may die ; because 
he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and hath 
cut down the image that was thereby. 

And Joash said unto all that stood against 
him, Will ye plead for Baal ? will ye save 
him ? he that will plead for him, let him be 
put to death while it is yet morning : if he 
be a god, let him plead for himself, because 
some one hath cast down his altar. 

That day was Gideon called " Jerubbaal," 
that is to say, Let Baal plead with him, 
because he had cast down the altar of Baal. 

The year following, when the Midianites 
and Amalekites and the tribes of the desert 



came, as their custom was, with a great 
multitude, and pitched in the valley of 
Jezreel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon 
Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and all the 
house of Abiezer assembled to his call. 
Then he sent messengers throughout all 
Manasseh, and they also gathered themselves 
together to him : also he sent messengers 
unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto 
Naphtali, and they came up to meet him. 

And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt 
save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, 
behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the 
threshing-floor, and if the dew be on the 
fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth 
beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save 
Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. And 
it was so : for he rose up early on the 
morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and 
wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full 
of water. 

And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine 
anger be hot against me, and I will speak 
but this once. Let it be dry only upon the 
fleece, and upon all the ground beside let 
there be dew. And God did so that night ; 
for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there 
was dew on all the ground. 

Choosing the \rmy. 

Gideon, when he had received these two 
signs from the Lord, rose up early, and 
pitched his camp above the fountain of 
Harod, that was at the foot of Mount 
Gilboa; so that the host of the Midianites 
were on the north of them, in the valley 
beneath, hard by the hill of Moreh. 

Then the Lord said unto Gideon, The 
people that are with thee are too many for 
me to give the Midianites into their hands, 
lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, 
saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 
Now, therefore, proclaim in the ears of the 



158 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, 
let him return and depart early to his own 
home. And there departed of the people 
twenty and two thousand, and there remained 
ten thousand. 

And the Lord said unto Gideon, The 
people are yet too many; bring them down 
unto the water, and I will try them for thee 
there: and it shall be that those of whom 
I say, This shall go with thee, he shall go 
with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say, 
This shall not go with thee, he shall not go 
with thee. 

So Gideon brought the ten thousand to 
the water; and the Lord said unto Gideon, 
Every one that lappeth of the water with his 
tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set 
by himself; and every one that boweth down 
upon his knees to drink, by himself. 

They that drank warily, taking up of the 
water with their hands, and lapping from 
their hands, lest they should be caught 
unawares by an enemy coming from behind, 
were three hundred men; but all the rest of 
the people bowed down upon their knees, 
and dipped their heads into the water, and 
drank their fill, not heeding what might 
happen. 

The Valiant Three Hundred. 

And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the 
three hundred men that lapped will I save 
you, and deliver the Midianites into thine 
hand. Let the rest of the people go every 
man to his own place. 

Then the three hundred took from them 
that departed such victuals as they required, 
and also a trumpet for each, and a pitcher. 
The rest of the people Gideon sent away 
every man to his own tent; but the three 
hundred he kept; and the host of the Mid- 
ianites was in the valley beneath. 

And that same night the Lord said unto 



him, Arise, get thee down unto the host ; fof 
I have delivered it into thine hand. But if 
thou still fear to go down against them, then 
go with Phurah thy servant to the host: and 
thou shalt hear what they say; and after- 
wards thy hand shall be strengthened to gc 
down igainst the host of the enemy. 

So Gideon went down with Phurah his 
servant to the camp of the Midianites, to 
where the armed men lay by themselves on 
the side that was nearest to Mount Gilboa. 
And the Midianites, with the Amalekites and 
the tribes of the desert, lay along in the 
valley like locusts for multitude; and their 
camels were without number, as the sand by 
the seashore for multitude. 

A Strange Dream. 

When Gideon and his servant were come 
to the outskirts of the camp they heard two 
men talking. One man told a dream unto> 
his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a 
dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread, so 
vile that no man would eat it, tumbled into 
the host of Midian, and came unto the tent 
of the captain of the host, and smote it sc 
that it fell and lay along on the ground. 

His fellow answered him, and said, This is 
nothing else than the sword of Gideon the 
son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his 
hand hath the Lord delivered Midian, and 
all his host. 

When Gideon heard how the one man 
told his dream, and how the other interpreted 
it to him, he worshipped the Lord, and 
returned to his people, and said, Arise; for 
the Lord hath delivered into your hand thfc 
host of Midian. 

And he divided his three hundred into 
three companies; and he put into every 
man's hand a trumpet and an empty pitcher, 
and in each pitcher a firebrand. One com- 
pany he took for himself; the other two he 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



159 



put each under a captain ; and he sent them 
to different sides of the camp. But first he 
said to them, Look on me, and do likewise. 
When I am come to the outside of the camp, 
as I do so, shall ye do also. When I blow 
with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, 
then blow ye the trumpets also on the sides 
of the camp where ye shall be, and cry, The 
Sword of the Lord and of Gideon. 



side of the camp. They all blew with their 
trumpets, holding them in their right hands, 
and the torches they held in their left ; and 
they cried, The Sword of the Lord and of 
Gideon. Every man of them stood in his 
place round about the camp; and all the 
host of the Midianites ran to see what had 
happened, and they cried out for fear, and fled. 
And as the three hundred still blew with 




GIDEONS VICTORY OVER THE MIDIANITES. 



So Gideon and the hundred men that were 
with him came unto the outside of the camp 
in the beginning of the middle watch, and 
the Midianites had but newly set the watch. 
This would be about half past ten o'clock at 
night by our time. Then Gideon and his 
men blew the trumpets, and broke the pitch- 
ers in which the torches were hidden; and 
the other companies did the same on their 



their trumpets, there came a great terror 
from the Lord on the host of the Midianites; 
and every man turned his sword against his 
fellow throughout all the host. And they 
fled towards the Jordan, to escape into their 
own land. Gideon sent messengers through- 
out all Mount Ephraim, saying to his brethren, 
the men of Ephraim, Come down against the 
Midianites, and occupy the streams that flow 



160 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



into Jordan, or ever they can cross them. 
Meanwhile he, and his three hundred with 
him, followed after the Midianites till they 
came to Jordan; and they crossed over to 
the other side, faint, yet pursuing the enemy. 
And when he came to Succoth, which is in 
the land of Gad, he said to the men thereof, 
Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the 
people that follow me ; for they are faint, and 
I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, 
kings of Midian. 

And the princes of Succoth said, Are 
Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hands, that 
we should give bread unto thy army? Then 
Gideon laid, Therefore, when the Lord hath 
delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine 
hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns 
of the wilderness and with briers. 

From Succoth, which was in the valley of 
Jordan, he went up to Penuel, which was in 
the hill-country, and spoke to them as he 
had spoken to the men of Succoth ; and the 
men of Penuel answered him as the men of 
Succoth had answered him. Then he said 
to them, When I come again in peace, I will 
break down this tower. Now the men of 
Ephraim had taken at the fords two princes 
of the Midianites. Oreb they slew at a rock 
that was called in after days the rock Oreb, and 
Zeeb by a wine-press that was named the 
wine-press of Zeeb ; and they brought che 
heads of the two princes to Gideon when he 
was on the other side of Jordan. 

The Princes are Captured. 

And they said to him, What is this thing 
that thou hast done to us, in that thou 
calledst us not when thou wentest out to 
fight against the Midianites ? And they 
reproached him very sharply. 

Then Gideon said, What have I done now 
in comparison of you ? Is not the gleaning 
of the grapes of Ephraim better than the 



whole vintage of Abiezer ? God hath 
delivered into your hands the princes of 
Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What was I able 
to do in comparison of you ? When he had 
spoken their anger against him was abated. 
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, 
which was in the wilderness, in the land o! 
the people that dwelt in tents. They had 
fifteen thousand men with them, all that 
were left of the host of the tribes of the 
desert ; for there had fallen an hundred and 
twenty thousand men that drew the sword. 
And Gideon came up against them, falling 
upon them unawares, and discomfited their 
host. Gideon returned from the battle be- 
fore sunrise, and caught a young man of 
Succoth, and inquired of him. And the 
young man wrote down for him the names 
of the princes of Succoth, and of the elders, 
even threescore and seventeen men. Then 
he came to the city, and said, Behold Zebah 
and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid 
me, saying, Are Zebah and Zalmunna now 
in thy hands, that we should give bread to 
thy men that are weary ? 

Punished with Thorns and Briers. 

And he took the elders of the city and 
punished them, tearing their flesh with 
thorns and briers. After this he went to 
Penuel, and beat down the tower, and slew 
the men of the city. 

Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, 
What manner of men were they whom ye 
slew at Mount Tabor? They answered, As 
thou art, so were they ; each one was like 
the child of a king. 

He said, They were my brethren, even the 
sons of my mother: as the Lord liveth, if ye 
had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 
And he said unto Jether his first-born son, Up 
and slay them. But Jether drew not his sword; 
for he feared, because he was vet but a boy. 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



161 



Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, 
Rise thou, and fall on us ; for as the man is, 
so is his strength. Then Gideon rose, and 
slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away 
the ornaments shaped as a half-moon, that 
were on their camels. 

The men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule 
thou over us, thou and thy son after thee, 
and thy son's son also ; for thou hast 
delivered us out of the hand of the Midianites. 

Gideon said unto them, I will not rule 
over you, neither shall my son rule over you; 
the Lord shall rule over you. Also he said 
unto them, I would desire this of you, that 
ye give me every man the nose-rings that ye 
have taken from the slain. For the men had 
golden nose-rings, as was the custom with 
their nation. And they answered, We will 
willingly give them. Then Gideon spread 
•out his soldier's cloak, and the men cast 
therein every man the nose-rings that he had 
taken from the slain. 

Gideon also had for himself the ear-drops, 
-and the ornaments, and the purple clothing 
of the kings of Midian, and the chains that 
were about the necks of their camels. Then 
Gideon took the gold and made with it an 
ephod — that is to say, a high priest's robe 
with a breastplate, and other things appertain- 
ing thereto, and put it in his city, even 
Ophrah, that the people might not resort to 
Shiloh, but might come to Ophrah, where 
they would inquire of the Lord. And this 
thing became an occasion of sin to Israel, and 
turned to the destruction of Gideon's house. 

The Story of Abimelech. 

So Gideon dwelt at Ophrah in his own 
liouse after he had subdued Midian. For 
forty years he dwelt there and judged Israel, 
and the country was in quietness all his days. 
Gideon had a son that was borne to him by 
a Canaanitish woman of Shechem. Him 
11 



he called Abimelech. And Gideon died in 
a good old age, and was buried in the 
sepulchre of Joash his father in Oprah. 

But when he was dead the children of 
Israel went again after strange gods, and 
worshipped Baal-berith, whose temple was in 
Shechem. And they remembered not the 
Lord their God, who had delivered them 
out of the hands of all their enemies on every 
side ; neither showed they kindness to the 
house of Gideon, according to all the good- 
ness which he had showed unto Israel. 

After Gideon was dead Abimelech his son 
went to Shechem, unto the brethren of his 
mother, and communed with them and their 
kindred, saying, Speak, I pray you, these 
words in the ears of the men of Shechem, Is 
it better for you that all the sons of Gideon, 
that is to say, threescore and ten persons, 
reign over you, or that one reign over you? 
And remember that I am your brother. 

The brethren of Abimelech's mother spoke 
all these words concerning him in the ears of 
the men of Shechem; and their hearts in- 
clined to follow Abimelech, for they said, He 
is our brother. 

Parable of the Trees. 

And they gave him three score and ten 
shekels of silver out of the temple of Baal- 
berith, and with this money Abimelech hired 
certain men, vain and idle, to follow him; 
and went unto the house of his father in 
Ophrah, and slew there all his father's sons, 
even threescore and ten persons, upon one 
stone. Only one of the seventy was left, 
Jotham, the youngest son, for he hid himself. 

Then all the men of Shechem gathered 
themselves together, and they that dwelt in 
the stronghold of Millo, and went and made 
Abimelech king by the oak of the garrison 
of Shechem. 

And when they told Jotham what had 



J 62 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



been done, he went and stood on the top of 
Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and 
cried, and said, Hearken unto me, ye men of 
Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 
The trees went forth to anoint a king over 
them. And they said unto the olive tree, 
Reign thou over us. But the Olive tree said 
unto them, Shall I leave my fatness, where- 
with by my means they honor both God 



cheereth God and man, and go to be king 
over the trees ? Then said all the trees unto 
the thorn, Come thou, and reign over us. 

And the thorn said unto the trees, If ye 
do well to anoint me king over you, then 
come and put your trust in my shadow ; but 
if ye have not done well, then shall fire come 
out of the thorn, and devour the cedars o^ 
Lebanon. 




and man, and go to be king over the trees ? 

Then the trees said to the fig tree, Come 
thou, and reign over us. And the fig tree 
said unto them, Shall I forsake my sweetness 
and my good fruit and go to reign over the 
trees ? 

Then said the trees unto the vine, Come 
thou, and reign over us. And the vine said 
unto them, Shall I leave my wine, which 



A WOMAN CASTS A STONE UPON ABIMELECH. 

Now, therefore, if ye have done well and 
honestly in that ye have made Abimelech 
king, and if ye have dealt justly with Gideon 
and his house, and done unto him as he de- 
served of you (for remember that my father 
fought for you, and did venture his life, and' 
delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 
and yet ye have risen up against my father's 
house this day, and have slain his sons,. 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



163 



threescore and ten persons, on one stone, 
and have made Abimelech, the son of his 
maid-servant, king, because he is your kins- 
man) — if then ye have dealt justly with the 
house of Gideon, then rejoice in Abimelech, 
and let him also rejoice in you ; but if ye 
have done well, then shall fire come from 
Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem 
and the fortress of Millo ; and let fire come 
from the men of Shechem, and from the 
fortress of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 

Robbers on the Mountains. 

Then Jotham fled, and dwelt at Beerith, 
for fear of Abimelech his brother. 

When Abimelech had had dominion over 
Israel for three years, God sent an evil spirit 
between Abimelech and the men of Shechem ; 
and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously 
with Abimelech. This he did that the 
cruelty done to the sons of Gideon might be 
punished, and that their blood might be upon 
the head of Abimelech their brother, and 
upon the heads of the men of Shechem, 
who had strengthened his hands to kill his 
brethren . 

The men of Shechem set men to lie in 
wait for the officers of Abimelech on the top 
of the mountains. These robbed all that 
came by ; and the thing was told to Abime- 
lech. 

Then one Gaal, the son of Ebed, went with 
a company of his kinsfolk to Shechem ; and 
the men of Shechem put their confidence in 
him ; and they went out into their fields, and 
gathered in their vintage, and trod the grapes, 
and sacrificed thank-offerings, and did eat and 
drink, and cursed Abimelech. 

And Gaal said, Who is Abimelech, that 
we should serve him, and Zebul his officer, 
that we should serve them ? Let the princes 
of the Canaanites serve Abimelech, for he is 
of their kindred. Would to God that I v/ere 



rulei in this place ! Then would I remove 
Abimelech -out of it. 

When Zebul, who was ruler of the city 
under Abimelech, heard these words of Gaal, 
his anger was kindled, and he sent mes- 
sengers secretly to Abimelech, saying, Be- 
hold, Gaal and his brethren are come to 
Shechem ; and, behold, they stir up the city 
against thee. Now, therefore, come by night, 
thou and the people that is with thee, and lie 
in wait in the field. For Gaal and his com- 
pany go out to-morrow on a certain business. 
When, therefore, they are gone, do thou, as 
soon as the sun is up, set upon the city ; and 
when Gaal and his company come back, thou 
canst do to them as thou shalt find occasion. 

Ready for the Attack. 

So Abimelech rose up, and all the people 
that were with him, by night, and they laid 
wait against Shechem in four companies. 

Now, very early in the morning, Gaal went 
out and stood in the gate of the city, pre- 
paring to go as he had purposed. But 
while he stood there Abimelech and the 
people that were with him rose up from 
lying in wait ; and Gaal saw them. Then he 
said to Zebul the governor, Behold, there 
are people that come down from the top of 
the mountains. 

But Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the 
shadows on the mountains, and thinkest 
them to be men. And Gaal spake again 
and said, Surely there are people that come 
down by the hollow in the mountains, and 
others again by the oak of the soothsayers. 
Then said Zebul, Where are now thy boast- 
ings that thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, 
that we should serve him ? Lo, these men 
whom thou seest are they whom thou hast 
so despised. Go out now, and fight with them. 

So Gaal went out at the head of the men 
of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 



164 



THE STORY 



And Abimelech vanquished him. And many 
were slain and many wounded before they 
could reach the gate of the city. But Abime- 
lech could not on that day enter into the 
city, but abode at Arumah ; and Zebul thrust 
out Gaal and his people, that they should 



OF GIDEON. 

forth from the city, he rose up against them 
and smote them. And he and his own 
company made haste to the city, and stood 
in the gate; and the other two companies 
ran upon all that were in the fields, and slew 
them. All that day Abimelech fought 




ABIMELECH SLAIN BY HIS ARMOR-BEARER. 

not dwell in Shechem any more. On the 
morrow the men of Shechem went out 
again into the field. And Abimelech had 
been told this thing by Zebul his captain, 
and he took his people and divided them 
into three compar>:,, and laid wait in the 
field as before. ^nd when the people came 



against the city ; and he took it, and slew 
the people that were therein, and destroyed 
the city, and sowed the ground with salt. But 
when the men that were in the tower of Shec- 
hem, which is the fortress of Millo. saw what 
was done, they entered into the temple of 
Baal-berith, and fortified themselves there. 



THE STORY OF GIDEON. 



165 



When Abimelech heard of this, he and 
his people went up to Mount Zalmon. He 
look an axe in his hand, and cut down a 
bough from a tree, and laid it on his shoulder, 
and said to the people, Make haste, and do 
what ye have seen me do. 

So every man cut down his bough as 
Abimelech had done, and carried them to 
Shechem, and piled up these against the 
hold, and so set fire to it. And all there 
were in the tower of Shechem died also — 
about a thousand men and women. 

After this Abimelech went to Thebez, and 
encamped against it, and took it. Now 
there was a strong tower within the city, and 
thither fled all the men and women of the 
city, and shut to the gates, and went up to 
the top of the tower. Then Abimelech came 
unto the tower, and fought against it, and 



went close up to the door of the tower to 
burn it with fire. 

And a certain woman cast a piece of a 
millstone upon Abimelech, and broke his 
skull. Then he called hastily out to the 
young man his armour-bearer, and said, 
Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say 
not of me, A woman slew him. And the 
young man his armor-bearer thrust him 
through, and he died. 

Thus did God recompense the wickedness 
of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, 
in slaying his seventy brethren : and all the 
evil of the men of Shechem did God recom- 
pense to them; and upon them came the 
curse of Jotham the son of Gideon, for in 
very truth the fire came out of the thorn 
which they had chosen to be their king, a<nd 
they were plagued thereby. 




CHAPTER XII. 



B. C. 1187. 

Jephthah and his Daughter— An Angel Comes to Manoah — Birth of Samson ™Th^ 
Slain Lion — Honey from a Strange Source — -A Hard Riddle to Guess— Jackals 
in the Corn — Samson Breaks his Bonds — The Giant Loses his Strength — The 
Cunning Trick of Delilah — Pillars of the Temple Fall — Death of Samson. 




S SOON as Gideon was dead the 
children of Israel returned to 
their wicked ways. In the 
course of time the Ammonites 
made war against Israel. And 
the children of Israel sent for a 
man named Jephthah, a skillful warrior, to 
be their captain, and lead them forth to battle. 
Jephthah said he would go with them if 
they would promise to make him a prince 
and a ruler in the land. This they said they 
would do, and Jephthah took his place as 
captain at the head of the army of Israel. 
But "before he left his home in Mizpeh, Jeph- 
thah vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If 
thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into 
my hands, I will offer up as a burnt offering 
whatever comes out of my house to meet me, 
when I return to my home in peace. 

Jephthah fought against the Ammonites 
and overthrew them, and afterwards departed 
fox his home in Mizpeh. As he drew near 
his house, the one that came forth to meet 
him was his own daughter, his only child, in 
whom his heart was bound up. She, with 
her fair companions, came to meet the return- 
ing hero, with timbrels in hand and with 
songs and dances. 

As soon as Jephthah saw her, he rent hir 

robes, and cried out, Alas my daughter! thou 

hast brought me very low, for I have given 

my word to the Lord, and cannot take it 

166 



back. Nor did she ask it. She replied that 
he must do to her according as he had 
promised the Lord, who had given him the 
victory. Only, she said, let me alone for 
two months, that I may go up and down the 
mountains, I and my companions, and lament 
my fate. 

He Keeps His Vows. 

Jephthah granted her request, and at the 
end of two months she came back to her 
father, and he sacrificed her according to the 
vow he had made. And it became a custom 
for the daughters of Israel to mourn over 
the daughter of Jephthah for four days in 
every year. And Jephthah judged Israel 
for six years, and when he died he was buried 
in one of the cities of Gilead. 

At Zorah, in the inheritance of the children 
of Dan, whose lot had fallen to them between 
the wilderness of Judah on the east and the 
plain of the Philistines on the west, there 
dwelt a certain man whose name was Manoah. 
In those days the Philistines had dominion 
over all the south of the land of Israel — that 
is to say, over Dan and Judah and Simeon. 

Now this Manoah had no children ; and 
on a certain day the Angel of the Lord 
appeared to his wife, and said to her, Behold, 
thou shalt bear a son. Now therefore 
beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor 
any strong drink, and eat not any unclean 



THE STORY OF SAMSON, 



167 



thing. And let no razor come upon the 
head of the son whom thou shalt bear : for 
he shall be a Nazarite unto God ; and he 
shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand 
of the Philistines. 

The woman came and told her husband, 
saying, A man of God came to me, and his 
countenance was like the countenance of an 



thou didst send come again, and teach us 
what we shall do unto the child that shall 
be born. 

And God hearkened to the voice of 
Manoah ; and the Angel of God came again 
unto the woman, as she sat in the field ; but 
her husband was not with her. And the 
woman made haste, and ran, and showed the 




JEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER. 



Angel of God, very terrible ; but I asked him 
not whence he was, neither told he me his 
name : but he said unto me, Behold, thou 
shalt bear a son ; and now drink no wine 
nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: 
for the child shall be a Nazarite to God to 
the day of his death. 

Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and 
said, O my God, let the man of God whom 



thing to her husband, and said, Behold, the 
man hath appeared unto me, that came unto 
me the other day. 

Then Manoah arose, and went after his 
wife, and came unto the man, and said unto 
him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the 
woman ? And he said, I am. 

The Angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, 
Of all that I said unto the woman let her 



168 



THE STORY OF SAMSON. 



beware. She may not eat of anything that 
cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine 
nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing : 
all that I commanded her let her observe. 

Manoah Offers a Kid. 

And Manoah said unto the Angel of the 
Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, till we 
shall have made ready a kid for thee. And 
the Angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, 
Though thou detain me, yet will I not eat of 
thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt- 
offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. 
For Manoah knew not that he was an Angel 
of the Lord. 

And Manoah said, What is thy name, that 
when thy sayings come to pass we may do 
thee honor. The Angel of the Lord said 
unto him, Why askest thou thus after my 
name, seeing it is secret ? 

So Manoah took a kid with a meat-offering, 
and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord : 
and the Angel of the Lord did a wondrous 
thing; for it came to pass, when the flame 
went up toward heaven from the altar, that, 
as Manoah and his wife looked on, the Angel 
of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. 
And Manoah and his wife fell on their faces 
to the ground ; but the Angel of the Lord 
appeared to them no more. Then Manoah 
knew that he was an Angel of the Lord. 

And Manoah said to his wife, We shall 
surely die, because we have seen God. But 
his wife said unto him, If the Lord had been 
pleased to kill us, he would not have 
received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering 
at our hands ; neither would he have showed 
us all these things concerning the child that 
should be born. 

In due time the woman bare a son, and 
called his name Samson, which is by significa- 
tion " the sun." And the child grew, and 
the Lord blessed him ; and his Spirit came 



upon him at the camp oi Dan, that is between 
Zorah and Eshtaol. 

Now there was on the plain below Zorah — 
for Zorah stands upon the hills — a certain 
village named Timnath. It was a village of 
the inheritance of Dan ; but the Philistines 
dwelt there at this time. Samson went down 
thither, and saw a woman of the daughters 
of the Philistines that pleased him. Then he 
came up to Zorah, and said to his father and 
his mother, I have seen a woman in Timnath 
of the daughters of the Philistines ; now,, 
therefore, get her for me to wife. 

Seeking a Wife. 

Then his father and his mother said to 
him, Is there never a woman among all the 
daughters of thy brethren that are of the 
same tribe with thee, nor yet of the other 
tribes of Israel, that thou goest to take a wife 
of the uncircumcised Philistines? 

Then Samson said to his father, Get her 
for me ; for she pleaseth me well. But his 
father and his mother knew not that the 
thing was of the Lord, that their son might 
find occasion against the Philistines ; for at 
that time the Philistines had dominion over 
Israel. 

Then went Samson down, and his father 
and his mother, to Timnath. But Samson 
parted from his company, going by the way 
of the vineyards. And as he went, behold 
a young lion roared against him. And the 
Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, 
and he rent the lion as he would have rent a 
kid, and this though he had no weapon in 
his hand. But he told not his father and his 
mother what he had dene. After this he 
went down and talked with the woman, and 
she pleased him well. 

When the days of betrothal were ended, 
he came again from Zorah with his father 
and his mother to take his wife. And as he 




JEWISH MAIDENS MOURNING WITH JEPHTHA'S DAUGHTER 



THE STORY OF SAMSON. 



i69 



went he turned aside to see the carcase of 
the lion ; and, behold, there was a swarm of 
bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. 
And he took thereof in his hands, and went 
on eating, and' came again to his father and 
his mother, and he gave to them, and they 
did eat. But he told them not that he had 
taken the honey out of the carcase of a lion. 



garments of linen, and thirty upper garments. 
But if ye cannot find it out, ye shall give me 
thirty garments of linen, and thirty upper 
garments. 

They said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, 
that we may hear it. He said, Out of the 
eater came forth meat, and out of the strong 
came forth sweetness. 




SAMSON SLAYING THE LION. 



When he had come to the woman's house, 
he made a feast for his friends and neighbors, 
for so used a bridegroom to do ; and there 
were thirty of the Philistines that came to be 
his companions. 

On the first day of the feast Samson said 
to them, I will now put forth a riddle to you : 
if ye can find out the answer within the seven 
days of the feast, I will give you thirty under 



For three days they sought to expound 
the riddle, and could not. On the fourth 
day, which was the seventh day of the week, 
they said to Samson's wife, Entice thy hus- 
band, that he tell thee the riddle, lest we 
burn thee and thy father's house with fire: 
have ye invited us to this feast to rob us oi 
our goods ? 

Then Samson's wife wept before him, and 



170 



THE STORY OF SAMSON. 



said, Thou dost but hate me, and not love 
me ; for thou hast put forth a riddle to the 
children of my people, and hast not told it to 
me. He said unto her, I have not told it to 
my father and my mother, and shall I tell it 
to thee ? 

But she wept before him so long as the feast 
continued; and it came to pass on the seventh 
day that he told her, because she was urgent 
with him. And she told the riddle to the 
children of her people. 

So the men of the city, that were his com- 
panions in the feast, said to him on the 
seventh day, before the sun went down, What 
is sweeter than honey ? And what is stronger 
than a lion ? But he said, If ye had not 
ploughed with my heifer, ye had not found 
out my riddle. 

His Wife Given to Another. 

And he went down to Ashkelon, which 
was one of the five cities of the Philistines, 
and there slew thirty men, and took their 
spoil, and gave the garments to them that 
had expounded the riddle. 

And his anger was kindled against his 
wife, and he went back to his father's house. 
Then was his wife given to the chief of the 
thirty companions, a man whom he had used 
as his friend. 

A little while after, when it was now wheat 
harvest, Samson came down to see his wife, 
bringing with him a kid for a gift. Her 
father said, I thought that thou hadst utterly 
hated her; therefore I gave her to thy com- 
panion. But her younger sister is fairer than 
she; take her to wife, I pray thee, instead of 
her. When Samson knew that he had been 
robbed of his wife, he said, Now, though I 
do these Philistines an injury, yet shall I be 
more blameless than they. 

Then he went and caught three hundred 
jackals, and tied them two and two together, 



tail to tail, and put firebrands in the midst, 
between the tails ; and when he nad set the 
brands on fire, he let them go into the stand- 
ing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up the 
standing corn, and that which had been cut, 
and stood in sheaves, and the vineyards also, 
and the olives. 

Death by Fire. 

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done 
this? The men of the place answered, Sam- 
son, the son-in-law of the man of Timnath, 
because his wife hath been given to another. 
Then the Philistines came up to Timnath and 
burnt the man's house with fire, and the man 
and his daughter in it. Samson said, I will 
be avenged of you for this, and after that I 
will cease. 

Then he went out against them, and with 
the jawbone of an ass smote them hip and 
thigh with a great slaughter. When he had 
done this, he went and hid himself in a cavern 
that there was in the hill of Etam, which 
belonged unto Judah. Then the Philistines 
went up, and pitched their camp in the land 
of Judah. And the men of Judah said, Why 
are ye come up against us ? They answered, 
To bind Samson are we come up, to do to 
him as he hath done to us. 

Then three thousand men of Judah went 
to the cavern that was in the rock Etam, and 
said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the 
Philistines are rulers over us ? What is this 
that thou hast done unto us ? He said unto 
them, As they did unto me, so have I done 
unto them. 

Then they said unto him, We are come 
down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee 
into the hand of the Philistines. Samson 
said unto them, Swear that ye will not fall 
upon me yourselves. For he would not 
willingly lift up his hand against the men of 
his own people. They spoke unto him, 



THE STORY OF SAMSON. 



171 



saying, No ; but we will bind thee fast, and 
deliver ;hee into the hand of the Philistines ; 
but su< tly we will not kill thee. 

He Breaks the Cords. 

So they bound him with two new cords, 
and carried him up from the cave in the 
rock, and brought him, bound as he was, to 
the place where the Philistines were en- 
camped. 

When, the Philistines saw him, they 
shouted against him in their rage ; and the 
Spirit of the Lord came mightly upon him; 
and the two new cords that were upon him 
became as flax that hath been burnt with 
fire, and his bands were loosed fr^m off his 
hands. 

And he found the new jawbone of an ass, 
and put forth his hand and took it, and slew 
therewith a thousand men. And he said, 
With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon 
heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I 
slain a thousand men. 

After he had wrought this great slaughter 
he was sore athirst, and called unto the Lord, 
and said, Thou hast granted to Thy servant 
to work this great deliverance ; and now 
shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand 
of the uncircumcised ? 

As he looked, he saw a spring of water 
that came from a hollow in the rock, and 
when he had drunk, his spirit came again, 
and he revived. Wherefore he called the 
name of that spring " En-hakkore," which is 
by interpretation, " the fountain of him that 
calleth." After this Samson judged Israel 
twenty years. 

At the end of twenty years Samson loved 
a woman of Gaza, which is one of the five 
cities. And when he went to visit her, it 
was told the men of Gaza, saying, Samson is 
come hither. Then they made fast all the 
gates of the city, and laid wait for him all 



night, saying, In the morning, when it is 
day, we shall kill him. 

And Samson lay till midnight; and at 
midnight he arose, and, coming to one of 
the gates of the city, took up the two posts, 
and the folding-doors that were upon them, 
and the bar that joined them together, and 
put them on his shoulders, and carried them 
to the hills that were between Gaza and 
Hebron. 

Story of Delilah. 

After this he loved a woman that dwelt in 
the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 
The lords of the five cities of the Philistines 
came to her and said unto her, Entice him, 
and see wherein his great strength lieth, and 
by what means we may prevail against him, 
that we may bind him to afflict him ; and we 
will give thee, every one of us, eleven hundred 
pieces of silver. 

Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray 
thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and 
how thou mightest be bound. Samson said, 
If they bind me with seven green osiers 
which have not been dried, then shall I be 
weak, and be as another man. 

Then the lords of the Philistines brought 
to her seven green osiers that had never been 
dried, and she bound him with them. Now 
there were men lying in wait, in the very 
chamber with her ; so when she bound him, 
she said, The Philistines be upon thee, 
Samson ! And he brake the osiers as a 
thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the 
fire. So the secret of his strength was not 
known. 

After awhile Delilah said to Samson, 
Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me 
lies : now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith 
thou mightest in truth be bound. And he 
said unto her, If they bind me fast with new 
ropes that never before have been used, then 



172 



THE STORY OF SAMSON. 



shall I be weak, and be as another man. 
Delilah, therefore, took new ropes and 
bound him therewith, and said unto him, 
The Philistines be upon thee, Samson ! And 
there were, as before, men that laid wait in 
the chamber. Then Samson brake the new 
ropes off his arms as if they had been a thread. 
Yet again Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto 



and fastened them with the pin to the wall, 
Then she said unto him, The Philistines b& 
upon thee, Samson ! And he awaked out ol 
his sleep, and went away with the web intG 
which his hair was woven, and the pin, and 
the beam itself. 

Once again she said to him, How canst 
thou say I love thee, when thy heart is not 




SAMSON CAUGHT AND BOUND BY HIS FOES. 



thou hast mocked me, and told me lies ; tell 
me wherewith thou mightest be bound. He 
said unto her, Thou canst do it if thou 
weavest the seven locks of my hair into the 
web of thy loom, and fastenest them with 
the pin to the wall. For his hair was long 
*nd hung down in seven locks. 

So Delilah wove the locks into the web, 



with me? Thou hast mocked me these thre* 
times, and hast not told me wherein thy great 
strength lieth. 

And when she pressed him daily with ber 
words, and urged him so that his soul was 
vexed unto death, he told her all his heart, 
and said, There hath not come a razor on 
my head ; for I have been a Nazarite unto 



THE STORY OF SAMSON. 



173 



God : if I be shaven, then will my strength 
go from me, and I shall become weak, and 
be like any other man. 

And when Delilah saw that he had told 
her all his heart, she sent and called the lords 
of the Philistines, saying, Come up again yet 
this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. 

Then the lords of the Philistines came up 
and brought their money in their hand. And 
Delilah made Samson to sleep with his head 
upon her knees, and as he slept she caused 
a man to cut off the seven locks of his head. 
So she robbed him of his strength. Then 
she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Sam- 
son! And he woke out of his sleep, and 
said, I will go as before, and shake myself. 
For he knew not that the Lord had departed 
from him. But the Philistines took him, and 
put out his eyes, and brought him down to 
Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass, 
and made him grind at the mill in the prison- 
house. Howbeit the hair of his head began 
to grow again after it had been shaven. 

The Death of Samson. 

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered 
themselves together to offer a great sacrifice 
unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for 
they said, Our god hath delivered Samson 
our enemy into our hand. 

And Samson was brought out to the peo- 
ple, and when they saw him they praised 
their god, for they said, Our god hath deliv- 
ered into our hands our enemy, and the 
destroyer of our country, which slew many 
of us. And when they had feasted and their 



hearts were merry, they said, Call for Samson, 
that he may make us sport. And he made 
them sport, for they jeered at him, and buf- 
feted him, and he could not resist; and they 
set him between the pillars, for all to see. 

Then Samson said unto the lad that led 
him by the hand, Suffer me to feel the pillars 
whereupon the house standeth, that I may 
lean upon them. Now the house was full 
of men and women; and all the lords of the 
Philistines were there; and besides them that 
were in the house, there were upon the roof 
about three thousand men and women that 
beheld while Samson made sport. 

And Samson called unto the Lord, and 
said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray 
thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only 
this once more, that I may be avenged of the 
Philistines for my two eyes that they have 
put out. 

And Samson took hold of the two middle 
pillars upon which the house stood, and 
upon which it was supported, of the one 
with his right hand and of the other with 
his left; and Samson said, Let me die with 
the Philistines. And he bowed himself with 
all his might, and the house fell upon the 
lords and upon all the people that were 
therein. So the dead whom Samson slew 
at his death were more than they whom he 
slew in his life. 

Then his kinsmen and all the house of his 
father came down, and took him, and 
brought him up, and buried him between 
Zorah and Eshtaol, in the sepulchre of 
Manoah his father. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



B. C. 



1312. 



A. Famine at Bethlehem — Naomi Returns from Moab — Ruth Cleaves to her Mothek- 
in-law — Gleaners in the Harvest Field — Ruth at the Feet of Boaz—- The Shoe 
Given to a Neighbor — Ruth Becomes the Wife of Boaz. 




URING the time of the Judges, 
when Eli was high -priest, 
there was a famine in the land. 
And a certain man of Bethle- 
hem in Judah went to stay a 
while in the land of Moab, he 
and his wife and his sons. The 
name of the man was Elimelech, and the 
name of his wife Naomi. And they came 
into the country of Moab and sojourned 
there. And Elimelech died, and his two 
sons took to themselves wives of the women 
of Moab ; the name of the one was Orpah, 
and the name of the other Ruth. 

And after ten years the sons died, and 
Naomi was bereaved both of her husband 
and sons. Then she arose with her daugh- 
ters-in-law to return to her own country, for 
she had heard that God had looked upon 
his people and given them bread. And 
Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, Go, 
return each to her mother's house; the Lord 
deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt kindly 
with the dead. The Lord grant that each of 
you may find rest in the house of her hus- 
band. Then she kissed them, and they lifted 
up their voice and wept, and said to her, 
Surely we will return with thee to thy 
people. But Naomi answered, Return home, 
my daughters. For I cannot help you, for 
the Lord hath dealt hardly with me. And 
they wept again, and Orpah departed, after 
174 



she had kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth 
clave to her. Then Naomi said to her, Be- 
hold, thy sister-in-law hath gone back to her 
people and to her gods; do thou go after 
her. 

But Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave 
thee, nor to return from following after thee; 
for whither thou goest I will go, and where 
thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall 
be my people, and thy God my God; where 
thou diest I will die, and there will I be 
buried. The Lord do so to me, and more 
also, if aught but death part thee and me. 

They Arrive at Bethlehem 

And when Naomi saw that Ruth was 
steadfast in her purpose, she sought no more 
to persuade her. So these two went on till 
they came to Bethlehem. And when they 
came, all Bethlehem was greatly moved, for 
they asked, Can this be Naomi? She said 
to them, Call me not Naomi, but call me 
Mara, for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly 
with me. He sent me forth full, and he 
hath brought me back again empty. Now 
the time when Naomi and Ruth came tc 
Bethlehem was at the beginning of barley 
harvest. 

There was in Bethlehem a certain mar 
that was a kinsman of Elimelech. His name 
was Boaz, and he was very rich. Ruth said 
to her mother-in-law, Let me now go to the 




RUTH AND NAOMI. 



175 



176 



THE STORY OF RUTH. 



field and glean ears of corn after any one 
in whose sight I may find favor. And 
Naomi said to her, Go, my daughter. So 
she went and gleaned in the field, after the 
reapers ; and her hap was to light on that 
portion of the field which belonged to the 
man Boaz. And behold Boaz came from 
Bethlehem, and said to his reapers, The 
Lord be with you ! and they answered him, 
The Lord bless thee ! 

Then Boaz said to the servant that was 
over the reapers, Whose damsel is this ? The 
man said, This is the Moabitish damsel that 
came back with Naomi out of the land of 
Moab. She said to me, Let me glean after 
the reapers. So she came, and hath 
continued from the morning until now, and 
hath scarcely rested at all. Then Boaz said 
to her, Go not to glean in another field ; 
abide here, keeping close to my maidens. 
None shall harm thee. And when thou art 
thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of f hat 
which the men have drawn. 

Ruth Finds a Friend. 

When she heard this, she fell on her face 
before him on the ground, and said, Why 
dost thou take notice of me, seeing that I am 
but a stranger? Boaz answered, I have 
heard all that thou hast done to thy mother- 
in-law, and how that thou hast left thy father 
and thy mother, and hast come to a people 
which before thou knewest not. The Lord, 
under whose wings thou art come to seek 
refuge, recompense thee for it ! 

And when the reapers rested for their 
meal, Boaz said to her, Come hither, and eat 
of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vine- 
gar. So she sat beside the reapers, and 
Boaz reached to her grain that had been 
roasted in the fire, and she ate till she was 
satisfied; but there remained something over 
from her portion. And when she rose up to 



glean again, Boaz said to his men, Let her 
glean even among the sheaves, and do not 
trouble her. Let fall also some handfuls for 
her, that she may glean them. So Ruth 
gleaned in the field all the day; and when 
she had beat out all that was gleaned, she 
found that it was an ephah, or about twenty- 
eight quarts, of barley. This she took into 
the city to her mother-in-law. Also she 
gave her what had been left over when she 
ate bread. 

Naomi said to her, Where hast thou 
gleaned to-day? Blessed be he that took 
notice of thee. Ruth answered, The man 
in whose field I gleaned is Boaz. Then 
Naomi said, Blessed be the Lord, who has 
not ceased from his kindness both to the 
living and the dead. For this Boaz is one 
of our next kinsman. 

Ruth's New Home. 

Now it was the law among the Jews that 
if a man died without children, his nearest 
kinsman should buy his inheritance and 
take his widow to wife, so that the name 
of the dead might not perish out of Israel. 
Naomi knew that Boaz was near of kin to 
Elimelech. Whether there was any one 
nearer she knew not. Ruth said to her 
mother-in-law, The man said to me that I 
should keep by his men till they had ended 
his harvest. Naomi answered, It is well; 
do so, keep with his maidens, and go not 
into any other field. 

So Ruth kept by the maidens of Boaz till 
both the barley-harvest and the wheat-har- 
vest were ended. Afterwards Naomi said to 
Ruth, My daughter, I must see that you find 
a home. To-night Boaz winnows barley in 
the threshing-floor. Wash thyself, therefore, 
and anoint thyself, and put on thy best rai- 
ment, but take care that the man see thee 
not until he shall have done eating and 



THE STORY OF RUTH. 



177 



drinking. But when he lieth down, mark 
the place where he shall lie, and go in, and 
uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he 
•will tell thee what thou shalt do. And Ruth 
said to her mother-in-law, All that thou 
tellest me I will do. 

When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his 
heart was merry, he went to lie down at the 
*end of the heap of corn. And Ruth came 



ter. This is well done of thee that thou 
hast come to me and to none other for help. 
Fear not, I will do all that thou requirest; 
for all the city doth know that thou art a 
virtuous woman. And now it is true that I 
am thy near kinsman, but there is one that 
is nearer than I. Tarry here this night; and 
in the morning, if he will perform the part 
of a kinsman, well; but if he will not, then 




RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELDS OF BOAZ. 



•softly, and lay down at his feet under the 
covering that was over him. And it came 
to pass at midnight that the man was afraid, 
and turned himself; and behold a woman 
iay at his feet. He said, Who art thou? 
She answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid. 
Spread now thy skirt over me, for thou art a 
aiear kinsman. 

Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daugh- 
12 



will I perform it, as the Lord liveth. Lie 
down till the morning. 

So she lay down, and in the morning, 
before it was light, so that one could not see 
the other, she rose up. Then he said, Bring 
thy veil and hold it. And when she held it, 
he measured into it six measures of barley, 
that she might take them to her home. And 
she told Naomi all that the man had done; 



178 



THE STORY OF RUTH. 



and how he had said, Go not empty to thy 
mother-in-law. Then said Naomi, Sit still, 
my daughter, till thou shalt know how the 
matter will end. The man will not be at 
rest until he have finished the thing, and that 
this very day. 

In the morning Boaz went to the gate; for 
there the men of the city were wont to 
assemble for counsel and converse. And 
when the kinsman of whom Boaz had 
spoken to Ruth came by, Boaz called to 
him, Ho, thou! turn aside, and sit down here. 

So they sat down. And Boaz said unto 
the kinsman, Naomi, that has come back 
from the land of Moab, selleth a portion of 
land that belongeth to Elimelech that was 
her husband. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem 
it; but if thou wilt not, then tell me, that I 
may know. For thou art nearest to the 
dead, and I am next after thee, and there is 
none beside. 

A Singular Custom. 

The man said, I will redeem it. Then 
Boaz said, When thou buyest the land of 
Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the 
Moabitess, for she is the widow of Elime- 
lech's son. And her must thou take to wife, 
that the name of the dead may be preserved 
in his inheritance. The kinsman said, This 
I cannot do, lest I mar my own inheritance. 
I cannot redeem it: redeem it thyself. 

Now the custom in Israel was that in a 
matter of redeeming or exchanging, a man 
took off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, 



as a token that he gave over to him the 
right that was his own in law. Therefore 
the kinsman drew off his shoe, and gave it 
to Boaz, saying, Take the right to redeem 
the inheritance of Elimelech and his son. 

And Boaz said to the elders and unto atf 
the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I 
have bought this day all that was Elimelech'^, 
and his sons', and, moreover, Ruth the 
Moabitess, that was the wife of one, have I 
taken to be my wife, that I may raise up the 
name of the dead in his inheritance. Be ye 
therefore witnesses of this. 

The elders and the people answered, We 
are witnesses. The Lord make the woman 
that is come into thy house like Rachael and 
like Leah, which two did build the house oi 
Israel; and do thou worthily in Ephratah, 
and be famous in Bethlehem. 

And Ruth had a son. And the women 
said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, who 
hath not left thee without a kinsman, to 
preserve the name of thy husband and thy 
sons in Israel. For this child shall be unto 
thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of 
thy old age. For thy daughter-in-law, who 
loveth thee, and who is better to thee than 
seven sons, hath borne him. 

And Naomi took the child, and laid it in 
her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And 
the women, her neighbors, gave the child a 
name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi, 
and they called him Obed, which is by inter- 
pretation "serving." This Obed was the 
father of Jesse, the father of David 




THE HARVEST TIME. 



179 




L 



THE LORD OF HOSTS. 



180 



CHAPTER XIV. 



B. C. 1151. 

The Story of Samuel — Hannah's Prayer — The Boy Hears a Voice Calling Him— 
Sudden Death of Eli — Trouble with the Philistines — The Ark Carried Away — 
A Great Victory — Samuel Sets up a Stone — The Israelites Want a King. 




P IN Ramah, which is in the 
hill-country of Ephraim, 
there dwelt a certain man 
of the tribe of Levi, 
Elkanah by name. He had 
two wives ; the name of the 
one was Hannah, and the 
name of the other Peninnah ; 
and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had 
none. 

This man went up once every year to 
worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of 
Hosts at the tabernacle in Shiloh. (In those 
days Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, 
performed the office of high priest, for Eli 
their father was very old.) And when he 
had sacrificed, he gave portions to Peninnah 
his wife, and to her sons and daughters; but 
to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he 
loved her, though she was childless. Now 
Peninnah was wont to provoke Hannah 
sorely, and to make her to fret, because she 
had no children. This she did year by year ; 
as often as they went up to the house of the 
Lord, so often she provoked her; therefore 
she wept and could not eat. But Elkanah 
her husband said to her, Hannah, why 
weepest thou? Why eatest thou not? And 
why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better 
to thee than ten sons? 

Now, in a certain year when they had 
sacrificed and had sat down to eat and drink, 
Hannah rose up quickly from the table, and 



went to the tabernacle. And Eli the high 
priest sat upon his throne, by the door of the 
inner court of the tabernacle. 

And Hannah had great bitterness of soul, 
and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 
And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of 
Hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the afflic- 
tion of thine handmaid, and remember me, 
and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give 
unto thine handmaid a man child, then wiD 
I give him unto the Lord all the days of his 
life, and there shall no razor come upon his 
head. 

And it came to pass, as she continued 
praying before the Lord, that Eli marked 
how her mouth moved, for Hannah spoke 
only in her heart; her lips moved, but her 
voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought 
she had been drunken. And he said, How 
long wilt thou be druken? Put away thy 
wine from thee. 

Eli's Good Wish. 

Hannah said, No, my lord, I am a woman 
of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither 
wine nor strong drink, but have poured out 
my soul before the Lord. Count not thy 
daughter for a wicked woman ; for out of the 
abundance of my sorrowful thought have I 
spoken. 

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, 
and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition 
that thou hast asked of him. And Hannah 

181 



182 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy 
sight. And she went her way, and returned 
to her husband, where he sat at meat with 
Peninnah and his children, and did eat, and 
vrzs no more sorrowful. 

The next day they rose up early in the 
morning, and worshipped the Lord; and 
afterwards they returned to Ramah. In 



appear before the Lord, and abide in his 
house all the days of his life. Elkanah her 
husband said to her, Do what seemeth good 
to thee; tarry till thou shalt have weaned 
him; only the Lord perform his promise. 
So Hannah abode at home till she had 
weaned her son Samuel. 

After she had weaned him she took him 




THE YOUNG SAMUEL BROUGHT TO ELI, 



due time Hannah bare a son, and she called 
his name Samuel, for she said, I have asked 
him of the Lord. The word means that God 
heard her prayer. 

When the time came for Elkanah and his 
family to go up, after their custom, to Shiloh, 
Hannah went not up with them, for she said, 
I will not go up till the child be weaned; 
and then wil*» I bring him, that he may 



up with her to Shiloh, to the tabernacle 
She took at the same time a bullock three 
years old, and an ephah of flour for a burnt- 
offering, and a bottle of wine. And they 
slew the bullock, and brought the child to 
Eli. And Hannah said, Oh, my lord, as thy 
soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that 
stood here near to thee, when thou wast 
sitting, as now, upon thy throne, and prayed 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



183 



unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; 
and the Lord hath given me my petition 
which I asked of him. Therefore also I 
have lent him to the Lord; as long as he 
liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. 

The Boy's Coat. 

And Samuel ministered before the Lord, 
being a child; and he was girded with an 
ephod made of white linen, as though he 
were a priest. His mother also made him a 
coat; every year she made him a coat, and 
brought it to him when she came up with 
her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 
And the child grew, and was in favor both 
with the Lord and also with men. 

Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; 
they knew not the Lord, and paid no heed 
to his law. 

As to the peace-offerings, the command- 
ment of the law was this, that the breast and 
the right shoulder should be the priest's, but 
that all the fat should be first burnt. But 
the custom of the sons of Eli was that, when 
the flesh was in seething, their servant came, 
with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand, 
and struck it into the pan, or caldron, or pot ; 
all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest 
kept for himself. So they did to all the 
Israelites that came to Shiloh to do sacrifice. 

Also, before he that sacrificed had burnt 
the fat, the priest's servant came and said to 
him, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he 
will not have sodden flesh, but raw. And if 
any man said, Suffer them to burn the fat 
immediately, and then take as much as thy 
soul desireth; the servant would answer him, 
Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if 
not, I will take it by force. 

Wherefore the sin of the young men was 
very great before the Lord; for men abhorred 
the offering of the Lord. 

And when Eli their father heard of these 



things and of other wickedness that they did, 
he said unto them, Why do ye such things ? 
For I hear evil words of you from all the 
people. Nay, my sons ; it is no good report 
that I hear of you : ye make the Lord's 
people to transgress. If one man sin against 
another, the judge shall lay a penalty on 
him, and he shall be free ; but if a man sin 
against the Lord, who shall entreat for him ? 
Thus did Eli speak unto his sons, but they 
hearkened not unto him. 

What the Prophet Said. 

After this there came a man of God, a 
prophet, to Eli, and said, Thus saith the Lord, 
Did I not plainly appear unto the house of 
Aaron thy father, when they were in Egypt 
in Pharaoh's house? And did I not choose 
him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my 
priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn 
incense, to wear an ephod before me ? And 
did I not give unto the house of thy father 
all the offerings made by fire of the children 
of Israel ? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice 
and at mine offering, which I have com- 
manded in my habitation ; and hohorest thy 
sons above me, to make yourselves fat with 
the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my 
people ? Wherefore the Lord God of Israel 
saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the 
house of thy father, should walk before me 
for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be this far 
from me; for them that honor me I will 
honor, and they that despise me shall be 
lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come 
when I will cut off thy strength, and the 
strength of thine house, that there shall not 
be an old man in thine house. And thou 
shalt see a rival in my habitation, in all the 
wealth which I shall give Israel. 

And the man of thine house, whom I shall 
not cut off from thy altar, shall live to con- 
sume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart; 




HANNAH VISITING SAMUEL. 



184 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



185 



and all the increase of thine house shall die 
in the flower of their age. And this shall be 
a sign unto thee, namely the thing that shall 
come on thy two sons, Hophni and Phineas; 
in one day they shall die, both of them. 
And I will raise up a faithful priest, who 
shall do according to that which is in mine 
heart, and in my mind : and I will build him 
a sure house ; and he shall walk before mine 
anointed for ever. And it shall come to 
pass that every one that is left in thine house 
shall come and crouch to him for a piece of 
silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, 
Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' 
offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. 

Yet once again did the Lord denounce 
against the sons of Eli the evil that was to 
come upon them. It was the office of 
Samuel to open the doors of the tabernacle 
in the morning and to shut them at night ; 
also to light the seven-branched lamp that 
stood in the Holy Place when the darkness 
came, and to extinguish it when it was light, 
and to trim it, and feed it with fresh oil ; and 
he slept in a chamber hard by the chamber 
of Eli the priest. 

The Lord Calls Samuel. 

Now it happened when he was twelve 
years old that on a certain night, before it 
was dawn, for the lamp was yet burning in 
the tabernacle, that the Lord called Samuel 
as he slept, and Samuel answered, Here am 
I. And the lad ran to Eli ; for Eli was an 
old man, and his eyes were dim, so that he 
could not see, and if he needed anything he 
was wont to call for Samuel. And Samuel 
said to Eli, Here am I ; for thou calledst 
me. But Eli .said, I called not ; lie down 
again. And he went and lay down. 

The Lord called a second time, Samuel ! 
And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and 
<*aid, Here am I ; for thou didst call me. 



And he answered, I called not, my son ; lie 

down again. 

Now the Lord had never before spoken to 
Samuel. The Lord called Samuel aeain. 
And he arose and went to Eli, and said, 
Here am I ; for thou didst call me. 

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had 
called the child ; therefore he said unto him, 
Go, lie down : and it shall be, if he call 
thee again, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord ; 
for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went 
and lay down in his place. 

Curiosity of Eli. 

And the Lord came and called as before, 
Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel felt the 
presence of the Lord, and answered, Speak ; 
for thy servant heareth. 

And the Lord said to Samuel: Behold, I 
will do a thing in Israel, tne which whoso- 
ever heareth both his ears shall tingle. In 
that day I will put over against Eli all that 
I have spoken concerning his house. When 
I begin, I will also make an end. For I 
have told him that I will judge his house for 
ever for the inquity that he knoweth ; because 
his sons brought a curse upon themselves, 
and he restrained them not. And therefore 
have I sworn unto the house of Eli that the 
iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged 
with sacrifice nor offering forever. 

And Samuel lay until the morning, when 
he opened the doors of the tabernacle. And 
he feared to show Eli the vision. Then Eli 
called him, and said, Samuel, my son f 
Samuel answered, Here am I. 

Then said Eli, What is the thing that the 
Lord hath said unto thee ? I pray thee hide 
it not from me : God do so to thee, and more 
also, if thou hide from me any of the things 
which he said unto thee. 

Then Samuel told him all the words that 
he had heard. He hid nothing from him. 



186 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



And Eli said, It is the Lord ; let him do what 
seemeth him good. 

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with 
him, and did let none of his words fall to the 
ground. And all Israel, from Dan even to 
Beersheba, knew that he was established to 
be a prophet of the Lord ; for the Lord 



and Shen, in the place which was afterwards 
called Eben-ezer, and the Philistines pitched 
in Aphek. 

The Philistines put themselves in array 
against Israel, and when the battle was 
joined, Israel was smitten before the Philis- 
tines : and the Philistines slew of them four 




THE CALL OF SAMUEL. 



appeared again in Shiloh, speaking to Israel 
by the word of Samuel. 

Now it happened not long after these 
things that the children of Israel rebelled 
against the Philistines, who had oppressed 
them for twenty years and more, and went 
out to fight against them. The children of 
Israel pitched their camp between Mizpeh 



thousand men, who fell in the open country 
where the battle was fought. 

When they that had escaped from the 
battle came back into the camp, the elders 
of the people held a council ; and they said 
among themselves, Wherefore hath the Lord 
smitten us to-day before the Philistines ? Let 
us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



187 



from the tabernacle at Shiloh, that it may 
save us out of the hand of our enemies. 

So the people sent to Shiloh, that they 
might bring from thence the ark of the 
covenant of the Lord, even the Lord who 
dwelleth between the Cherubim. And the 
next day the ark was brought into the camp, 
and the two priests Hophni and Phineas came 
with it. And when the ark of the covenant 
came into the camp, all Israel shouted with 
a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 

A Startling Noise. 

And when the Philistines heard the noise 
of the shout they said, What meaneth the 
noise of this great shout in the camp of the 
Hebrews ? 

And when they understood that the ark 
of the Lord had come into the camp they 
were afraid, for they said, God is come into 
the camp. And they said, Woe unto us ! for 
there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 
Woe unto us ! who shall deliver us out of 
the hands of these mighty Gods ? These are 
the Gods who smote the Egyptians with 
utter destruction by the Red Sea. Be strong, 
and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, 
that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as 
they have been unto you : quit yourselves 
like men, and fight. 

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was 
smitten, and they fled every man to his tent ; 
and the slaughter was very great ; for there 
fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And 
the ark of God was taken ; and the two sons 
of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. 

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of 
the army, and came to Shiloh that same day, 
with his clothes rent, and with dust on his 
head. And when he came, lo ! Eli, the 
high priest, sat upon his throne by the gate 
of the tabernacle watching the road ; for his 
heart trembled for the ark of God. 



And when the man came into the city, and 
told the news of that which had happened, 
all the city cried out. 

And when Eli heard the noise of the 
crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of 
this tumult ? And the man came hastily to 
him where he sat, and told him. 

Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; 
and he was blind. And the man said unto 
Eli, I fled to-day out of the army. Eli said 
to him, What hath happened there, my son ? 

The messenger answered, and said, Israel 
fled before the Philistines, and there hath 
been also a great slaughter among the people, 
and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, 
are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 

And it came to pass, when the messenger 
made mention of the ark of God, that Eli 
fell from off his throne backward by the side 
of the door of the tabernacle, and his neck 
brake, and he died ; for he was an old man, 
and heavy : and he had judged Israel forty 
years. And the Philistines came up against 
Shiloh, and smote it and all the people with 
the edge of the sword. 

"What Happened to the Ark. 

The Philistines took the ark of God, and 
brought it from the place of the battle to 
Ashdod. And when they had brought it to 
Ashdod, they took it into the house of 
Dagon, and set it by the image of Dagon. 

When the men of Ashdod arose early the 
next morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on 
his face to the earth before the ark of the 
Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him 
up in his place again. 

On the next day, when they came early 
into the temple, behold, Dagon was fallen on 
his face to the ground before the ark of the 
Lord; and his head, and both his hands, 
were broken off, and lay upon the threshold ; 
only the body was left. 



188 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



Because of this, it became the custom that 
neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that 
came into Dagon's house, should tread on 
the threshold of his house in Ashdod. 

But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon 
the men of Ashdod, and smote them with a 
sore disease. When the men of Ashdod 
saw that this was so, they said, The ark of 
the God of Israel shall not abide with us ; for 
his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon 
our god. They sent therefore to the five 
lords of the Philistines, and said, What shall 
we do with the ark of the God of Israel? 
And the lords of the Philistines answered, 
Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried 
unto Gath. 

So they carried the ark to Gath. And the 
men of Gath suffered as the men of Ashdod 
had done; and yet more grievously. 

A Terrible Destruction. 

Therefore they sent the ark to Ekron. 
And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the 
men of Ekron cried out, saying, They have 
brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, 
to slay us and our people. 

So they sent to the lords of the Philistines, 
and said, Send away the ark of the God of 
Israel, and let it go again to its own place, 
that it slay us not, and our people. For 
there was a great destruction throughout all 
the city. The hand of God was very heavy 
there. They that died not were smitten with 
disease; and the cry of the city went up to 
heaven. 

The ark of the Lord was in the country 
of the Philistines for seven months. And 
the Philistines inquired of their priests and 
diviners, saying, What shall we do with the 
ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we 
(shall send it to its place? 

And the priests and the diviners answered, 
If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, 



send it not without a gift ; rather return to 
the God of Israel a trespass-offering ; then 
shall ye be healed, and ye shall know why 
his hand hath not been removed from you. 

Then said the Philistines, What shall be 
the trespass-offering that we shall send to the 
God of Israel ? 

The priests and the diviners answered, 
Five golden images of the swellings where- 
with ye have been plagued — for the people 
had been plagued with swellings — and five 
golden mice, according to the number of the 
lords of the Philistines ; for the plague has 
been upon you, and upon your lords, and 
the mice have devoured your land. So shall 
ye give glory to the God of Israel : perad- 
venture he will lighten his hand from off you,, 
and from off your gods, and from off your 
land. Wherefore do ye harden your hearts,, 
as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their 
hearts ? Were not Pharaoh and the Egypt- 
ians constrained to let this people go, when 
their God had wrought great wonders in the 
land 5 

They Make a New Cart. 

Now, therefore, make a new cart, and take 
two kine that have calves, on which there 
hath come no yoke, and harness the kine to 
the cart, and bring their calves home from 
them. Take also the ark of the Lord, and 
lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of 
gold, which ye send to the God of Israel for 
a trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side 
thereof; then send the cart with the ark 
away. If it go up to the borders of the 
land of Israel, by way of Beth-shemesh, 
then be sure that it is the Lord who hath 
done us this great evil ; but if not, then we 
shall know that it is not his hand that smote 
us ; it was a chance that happened to us. 

This the Philistines did. They took two 
kine that had calves, and harnessed them to* 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



189 



a new cart, and tied up their calves at home. 
And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the 
cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold 
and other images of gold with them in a 
coffer by the side of the ark. 

And the kine took the straight way to 
Beth-shemesh ; they went along the highway, 
lowing as they went, and turned not aside to 
the right hand nor to the left ; and the lords 
of the Philistines went after them to the bor- 
ders of Beth-shemesh. 

Now the men of Beth-shemesh were reap- 
ing their wheat harvest in the valley, and 
they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, 
and rejoiced to see it. 

The cart came into a field that belonged 
to one Joshua, a man of Beth-shemesh, and 
the kine stood still by a great stone that was 
there. So the men of the place took the 
kine and offered them for a burnt-offering to 
the Lord, and they clave the wood of the 
cart wherewith to burn them. 

And the priests — for Beth-shemesh was a 
city of the priests — took down the ark of the 
Lord, and the coffer that was with it, and 
put them on the great stone ; and the men 
of Beth-shemesh offered sacrifices unto the 
Lord that day. And when the lords of the 
Philistines had seen what was done, for they 
had followed after the cart, they returned 
unto Ekron the same day. 

They Die for their Trespass. 

But the men of Beth-shemesh looked into 
the ark ; and seventy men of them died for 
their trespass. Therefore they said, Who is 
able to stand before this holy Lord God ? 
To whom will he go up from us ? 

So they sent to the men of Kirjath-jearim, 
saying, The Philistines have brought again 
the ark of the Lord ; come ye down, and 
fetch it up to you. 

So the men of Kirjath-jearim came down 



to Beth-shemesh, and fetched up the ark of 
the Lord, and brought it into the house of 
Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar 
his son to keep the ark of the Lord. For 
many days, even for twenty years, did the 
ark of the Lord abide at Kirjath-jearim. 

It came to pass after the twenty years tha 
all Israel lamented after the Lord and sought 
to him. And Samuel spoke to them, saying, 
If ye do return unto the Lord with all your 
hearts, then put away Baalim and Ashtaroth 
from among you, and prepare your hearts 
unto the Lord, and serve him only ; and he 
will deliver you out of the hand of the Philis- 
tines. Then the children of Israel did put 
away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the 
Lord only. Baalim and Ashtaroth were idols. 

And Samuel said, Gather all Israel together 
unto Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to the 
Lord. 

And the children of Israel gathered to- 
gether at Mizpeh, and they fasted and 
confessed their sins, as it was commanded in 
the law to do on the day of atonement, and 
afterwards they kept the feast of tabernacles, 
and the high priest poured the water over 
the sacrifices as was the custom. 

The People are Afraid. 

And Samuel judged the children of Israel 
in Mizpeh. When the lords of the Philistines 
heard that the children of Israel were gathered 
together in Mizpeh, they went up against 
them. And when the children of Israel 
heard of it they were afraid. 

And the children of Israel said to Samuel, 
Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for 
us, that he will save us out of the hand of the 
Philistines. 

Then Samuel took a sucking lamb, and 
offered it for a whole burnt-offering unto the 
Lord, and the Lord answered him. For it 
came to pass that even as he was offering the 



190 



THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 



Iamb, the Philistines drew near to battle 
against Israel ; and the Lord thundered with 
a great thunder that day upon the Philistines, 
and discomfited them ; and they were smitten 
before Israel. For the men of Israel ran 
down upon them from the hill of Mizpeh, 
and pursued them, until they came to Beth-car. 

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up 
between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the 
name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath 
the Lord helped us. 

So the Philistines were subdued, and came 
no more into the land of Israel; and the 
hand of the Lord was against the Philistines 
all the time during which Samuel judged 
Israel. And the cities which the Philistines 
had taken from the children of Israel were 
restored to them, along the borders of 
Ekron and Gath. Also the Amorites that 
dwelt by Joppa made peace with the Israelites. 

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of 
his life. Every year he went in circuit to 
Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpeh. In all these 
places he judged Israel, and from them he 
returned to Ramah, for there was his house. 

The People Want a King. 

Now it happened when Samuel wa. old that 
he made his sons judges over Israel : one he 
set at Bethel, and the other at Beersheba. 
And his sons walked not in his ways, but 
turned aside after gain, and took bribes, and 
perverted judgment. Also at this time 
Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, 
had greatly increased his power ; the Philis- 
tines also began to invade the borders of the 
land, and the men of Israel sought for one 
who should lead their armies against them. 

Therefore all the elders of Israel gathered 
themselves together, and came to Samuel at 
Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art 
old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways ; now 
make us a king to judge us. even as the 



nations round about have kings to judge 
them. But the thing displeased Samuel 
when they said, Give us a king to judge us; 
and Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 

And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken 
unto the voice of the people in all that they 
say unto thee; for they have not rejected 
thee, but they have rejected me, that I 
should not reign over them. According to 
all the works which they have done since I 
brought them up out of the land of Egypt 
even unto this day, wherewith they have 
forsaken me, and served other gods, so they 
do also unto thee. Nevertheless hearken 
unto their voice ; but protest solemnly unto 
them, and show them the manner of the 
king that shall reign over them. 

What Their King Would Do. 

Then Samuel told all the words of the 
Lord to the people that asked of him a king. 
And he said, These shall be the ways of the 
king that shall reign over you. He will 
take your menservants, and your maid- 
servants, and your goodliest oxen, and your 
asses, and put them to his work. And he 
will take the tenth of your sheep ; and ye 
shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out 
in that day because of your king whom ye 
have chosen ; and the Lord will not hear you 
in that day. 

Nevertheless, the people refused to hear 
the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay, 
but we will have a king over us ; that we 
also may be like all the nations; and that 
our king may judge us, and go out before 
us, and fight our battles. 

And Samuel heard all the words of the 
people, and rehearsed them unto the Lord. 
And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto 
their voice, and make them a king. Then 
Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye 
every man unto his city. 



CHAPTER XV, 



B. C. 1095. 

Story of Saul — A Vial of Oil — Saul is Made King — Israel's Army— War with 
Amalek — The King's Disobedience — The Torn Mantle — An Evil Spirit— Thb 
Shepherd Boy and his Harp — David is Pursued — Saul and the Witch of Endor— 
The Last Battle — Death of Saul — What Was Done with the King's Body. 




HERE dwelt at Gibeah a cer- 
tain man of the tribe of Benja- 
min, whose name was Kish. 
He was a man of substance; 
and he had a son whose name 
was Saul, a young man and 
handsome. There was not 
among the children of Israel a goodlier per- 
son than he. By his head and shoulders he 
was taller than all the rest of the people. 

Now the asses of Kish, the father of Saul, 
were lost. And Kish said to his son, Take 
now one of the servants with thee, and arise, 
go seek the asses. So Saul passed through 
the hill-country of Ephraim, and thence 
through the country of Shalisha, and through 
Shalim, till they came to the land of Zuph, 
and found them not. Then said Saul to his 
servant, Come, let us return; lest my father 
cease to care for the asses, and take thought 
for us. 

The servant said to him, Behold, there is 
in this city — for they were now near to 
Ramah— a man of God, one that is greatly 
honored. All that he saith surely cometh 
to pass. Let us now go thither; peradven- 
ture he can show us the way which we 
Should go. 

Then said Saul, But, behold, if we go, 
what present shall we take to the man? 
Even our bread is spent, and we have not 



a loaf that we can give him. What shall 
we take him therefore ? 

The servant answered Saul again, and 
said, Behold, I have here the fourth part of 
a silver shekel. This will I give to the man 
of God, that he may tell us our way. Then 
said Saul to his servant, Thy words are 
good; come, let us go. 

They Meet Young Maidens. 

So they went to the city where the man 
of God dwelt. And as they were going up 
the hill to the city, they found young 
maidens going out to draw water, and said 
unto them, Is the seer here ? 

The maidens answered, He is ; he has come 
back to the city this day: make haste, for 
there is a sacrifice of the people to-day in the 
high place, and if ye go up straightway into 
the city, ye shall find him before he go up 
to the high place to eat; for the people will 
not eat till he come, because he doth bless 
the sacrifice, and afterward they eat that are 
bidden. Now therefore get ye up; for about 
this time shall ye find him. 

So they went up into the midst of the city; 
and when they were come up, Samuel came 
out of his house and met them, being on 
his way to the high place. 

Now the Lord had told Samuel the day. 
before Saul came, To-morrow, about this 

191 



192 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



time, will I send thee a man out of the land 
of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to 
be captain over my people Israel, that he 
may save my people out of the hand of the 
Philistines ; for I have looked upon my peo- 
ple, because their cry is come unto me. 

And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord 
said unto him, Behold the man of whom I 
spoke to thee ! This same shall reign over 
my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel 
where he stood in the midst of the city, and 
said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's 
house is ? 

Samuel answered, I am the seer: go up 
before me into the high place; for ye shall 
eat with me to-day ; and to-morrow I will let 
thee go, and tell thee all that is in thine 
heart. As for thine asses that were lost 
three days ago, set not thy mind upon them ; 
for they are found. And, indeed, whose are 
all the delectable things of Israel? Aie they 
not for thee and for thy father's house? 

Saul Eats with Samuel. 

Saul answered and said, Am not I a Ben- 
jamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? 
And my family the least of all the families of 
the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore then 
speakest thou so to me? 

And Samuel took Saul and his servant, 
and brought them into the hall of the high 
place, and made them sit in the most honor- 
able place among those that were bidden, and 
there were bidden about thirty persons. And 
the cook took the right shoulder of the beast, 
with its appurtenances, being Samuel's own 
portion, and set it before Saul. 

And Samuel said, Behold that which is 
reserved for thee! Set it before thee, and eat. 
So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. And 
Samuel communed with Saul on the top of 
the house. And the next day at dawn he 
called him, saying, Up, that J piav send thee 



away. Then Saul arose; and they went both 
of them out of the house together. And when 
they had now passed without the gate of the 
city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant 
pass on before us, but stand thou still 
awhile, that I may show thee the command- 
ment of God. And the servant passed on 
before. 

Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured 
it upon Saul's head, and kissed him; and 
when Saul wondered, he said, Is it not 
because the Lord hath appointed thee captain 
over his inheritance ? 

Three Men with Three Kids. 

Furthermore, that he might give him a 
sign, he said, When thou art departed from 
me to-day, thou shalt find two men by 
Rachel's sepulchre ; and they will say unto 
thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek 
are found ; and lo, thy father hath forgotten 
his care for the asses, and sorroweth for thee 
and thy servant, saying, What shall I do for 
my son? Then thou shalt go on forward 
from thence, and thou shalt come to the 
Oak of Tabor. Three men shall meet thee, 
going to worship God in the high place of 
Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another 
three loaves of bread, and another a bottle 
of wine : and they will salute thee, and give 
thee two loaves of bread, which thou shalt 
receive at their hands. 

After that, when thou shalt come to 
Gibeah, the hill of God, hard by the 
monument of the Philistines, thou shah meet 
there a company of the prophets coming down 
from the high place with a psaltery, and a 
tabret, and a pipe, and a harp. And the 
Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and 
thou shalt prophesy with them, and thou 
shalt be turned into another man. These 
shall be signs unto thee, and when they 
shall come to pass, then do thou what is 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



193 



fitting for thee; for God is with thee. 
And it was so that when he had turned to 
par 7 , from Samuel, God gave him another 
heart, and all these signs came to pass that 
day. When he came to the hill of Gibeah, 
and the company of the prophets met him, 
then the Spirit of God came upon him, and 
he prophesied among them. 

And when all that knew him beforetime 
saw this, they said one to another, What is 
this that is come to the son of Kish ? Is 
Saul also among the prophets ? 

Then one of the same place answered and 
said, Do ye wonder ? Who is the Father of 
the prophets ? Can he not give the gift to 
whom he will ? Thenceforward it became a 
proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets ? 

Casting Lots. 

And when Saul had made an end of 
prophesying, he went to the high place to 
worship there. Saul's uncle said unto him 
and to his servant, Whither went ye ? Saul 
answered, To seek the asses we went : and 
when we could not find them, we came to 
Samuel. 

And Saul's uncle said again, Tell me, I 
pray you, what. Samuel said unto you ? 
Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly 
that the asses were found. But of the 
matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel 
spake, he told him not. 

Then Samuel called all Israel to assemble 
before the Lord at Mizpeh, and he said unto 
them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 
I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and 
delivered you out of the hands of the Egypt- 
ians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms 
which oppressed you. And ye have this 
day rejected your God, who himself saved 
you out of all your adversities and your 
tribulations; and ye have said unto him, 
.Nay, but set a king over us. Now, therefore, 
13 



present yourselves before the Lord by your 
tribes, and by your thousands. 

Then Samuel cast the lots; and the lot 
fell on the tribe of Benjamin. And when the 
families of the tribe of Benjamin came near, 
the lot fell on the family of Bichri ; and when 
the household of the Bichrites were taken, it 
fell on the household of Kish ; and when the 
men of the household of Kish were taken, it 
fell upon Saul. 

Then they asked, Is the man come hither ? 
And it was found that he had hidden himself 
among the baggage. So they ran and 
fetched him thence. And when he stood 
among the people, he was higher than any 
of the people, by his head and shoulders. 

Then Samuel said to all the people, See ye 
him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there 
i- c none like him among all the people ? 

Saul is King. 

And all the people shouted, and said, God 
save the King. 

Then Samuel told the people all the 
manner of the kingdom, what authority the 
king should exercise over them, and what 
obedience they should render to him. All 
this he wrote in a book, and laid up the 
writing before the Lord. And afterwards he 
sent the people away to their own homes. 

Saul also went home to Gibeah ; and there 
went with him a company of valiant men, 
whose hearts God had touched. But certain 
worthless fellows said, How shall this man 
save us ? And they despised him, and 
brought him no presents ; but he held his 
peace. 

And in the days of Saul the Reubenites 
made war against the Hagarites, who fell by 
their hand; and the Reubenites dwelt in 
their tents throughout all the east land of 
Gilead. And they were helped against the 
Hagarites, who were delivered into their 



194 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



hand and all that were with them : for they 
cried to God in the battle and he heard them, 
because they put their trust in him. 

Nahash the king of the children of Ammon 
came up and encamped against Jabesh in 
Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to 
Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we 
will serve thee. But Nahash the Ammonite 



come out unto thee. So the messengers 
went to other cities of Israel and to Gibeah, 
and they told the tidings in the ears of al/ 
the people: and all the people lifted up their 
voices and wept. 

And, behold, Saul came out of the field 
with the oxen with which he had been 
ploughing, and he said, What aileth the 




THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HAGARITES. 



said, On this condition will I make a covenant 
with you, that I may thrust out all your 
right eyes, that I may make it a reproach 
upon all Israel. 

And the elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, 
Give us seven days' respite, that we may send 
messengers into all the borders of Israel : and 
then, if there be no man to save us, we will 



people that they weep? And they told him 
the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 

Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul 
when he heard these tidings, and his anger 
was greatly kindled. And he took a yoke 
of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent the 
pieces by messengers throughout the land of 
Israel saying, Whosoever cometh not forth 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



195 



after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be 
done unto his oxen. 

And the fear of the Lord came upon all 
the people, and they came out with one con- 
sent. And when Saul numbered them in 
Bezek, the children of Israel were three hun- 
dred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty 
thousand. 

Help is Promised. 

Saul said unto the messengers, Thus shall 
ye say to the men of Jabesh in Gilead, To- 
morrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall 
have help. And the messengers came and 
showed this to the men of Jabesh, and they 
were glad; and they sent to the Ammonites, 
saying, To-morrow we will come out unto 
you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth 
good unto you. 

On the morrow Saul divided the people 
mto three companies; and they came into 
the midst of the host of the Ammonites in 
the morning watch. The men of Jabesh also 
sallied forth, and there was a great slaughter 
of the Ammonites, so that not two or three 
were left together. And Nahash the king 
also was slain. 

Then all the people said to Samuel, Who 
are they that said, Shall Saul reign over us ? 
Bring the men, that they may be put to 
death. But Saul said, There shall not a man 
be put to death this day : for to-day the Lord 
hath wrought salvation in Israel. 

Then said Samuel to the people, Come, let 
us go to Gilgal, aud make Saul king anew. 
So all the people went to Gilgal ; and they 
made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal ; 
and Samuel anointed him before all Israel ; 
and there they offered peace-offerings ; and 
Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. 

Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to 
anoint thee to be king over this people, over 
Israel ; now, therefore, hearken unto the 



voice of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of 
Hosts, I remember that which Amalek did 
to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the 
way. Now go and smite Amalek, and 
utterly destroy him and all that he hath. 

So Saul gathered the people together, and 
numbered them, two hundred thousand men 
of Israel, and ten thousand men of Judah. 
And he came to the city of Amalek, and laid 
wait in the valley. And he said to the 
Kenites, Get you down from among the 
Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them ; for 
ye showed kindness to all the children of 
Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So 
the Kenites departed from the Amalekites. 

Then Saul smote the Amalekites as far as 
the border of Egypt. Agag their king he 
took alive ; but all the people he slew. 
Nevertheless he and his people spared the 
best of the sheep and the oxen and all that 
was good, and would not utterly destroy 
them ; but everything that was vile and 
refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 

The Disobedience of Saul. 

Then came the word of the Lord unto 
Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I h?ve 
set up Saul to be king ; for he is turned back 
from following me, and hath not performed 
my commandments. 

And Samuel was displeased, for he loved 
Saul greatly ; and he cried unto the Lord all 
night to change his purpose. 

Then Samuel said to Saul, Though thou 
wast little in thine own eyes, wast not thou 
made the head of the tribes of Israel ? And 
did not the Lord anoint thee to be kine over 
Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, 
and said, Go, and utterly destroy those 
sinners the Amalekites, and fight against 
them till they be consumed. Wherefore 
then didst thou not obey the voice of the 
Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst 



196 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



that which was evil in the sight of the Lord ? 
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned : 
for I have transgressed the commandment 
of the Lord, and thy words ; because I 
feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 
Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, 
and turn again with me that I may worship 
the Lord. 



this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of 
thine that is better than thee; neither will 
the Glory of Israel repent : for he is not a 
man that he should repent. 

Then Saul said, I have sinned ; yet honor 
me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my 
people, and before Israel, and turn again 
with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. 




SAUL TEARING THE ROBE OF SAMUEL. 



And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not 
return again with thee : for thou hast 
rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord 
hath rejected thee from being king over 
Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go 
away, Saul laid hold of the skirt of his 
mantle, and it rent. 

And Samuel said unto him, The Lord 
hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee 



So Samuel turned again after Saul ; and 
Saul worshipped the Lord. Then said 
Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the 
king of the Amalekites. And Agag came 
unto him trembling. And Agag said, Surely 
the bitterness of death is past; for he had 
hoped that he should be spared. 

And Samuel said to him, As thy sword 
hath made women childless, so shall thy 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



197 



mother be childless among women. And 
Samuel hewed him in pieces with his own 
hands before the altar of the Lord in Gilgal. 
Then Samuel went to his own city, to 
Ramah ; and Saul returned to his house in 
Gibeah of Saul. But Samuel came no more 
to see Saul till the day of his death. Never- 
theless Samuel mourned for Saul ; and it 



player upon a harp : and it shall come to 
pass, when the evil spirit of God is upon 
thee, that he shall play with his hand, and 
thou shalt be well. 

Then Saul said unto his servants, Provide 
me now a man that can play well, and bring 
him to me. Then answered one of his 
servants, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse 




DAVID PLAYING THE HARP BEFORE SAUL. 



repented the Lord that he had made Saul 
king over Israel. 

After these things, the Spirit of the Lord 
departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from 
the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants 
said unto him, Behold now an evil spirit 
from God troubleth thee. Let our lord so 
command, and thy servants which are before 
thee will seek out a man who is a skillful 



the Bethlehemite, that is skilful in playing, 
and a valiant man, and prudent in speech, 
and also a comely person, and the Lord is 
with him. 

Now this son of Jesse was named David. 
And the servants of Saul had heard how he 
had slain a lion and a bear while he kept his 
father's flocks; but they knew not that 
Samuel had anointed him to be king over 



198 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



Israel in the room of their master, for this 
thing had been done in secret. 

So Saul sent messenger's to Jesse, and said, 



and a kid, and sent them to Saul by David 
his son. 

And when the evil spirit came upon Saul, 




Send me David thy son, who is with the 
sheep. Then Jesse took an ass, and laded it 
with bread, and put on it also a skin of wine, 



SAUL AND HIS MEN SEARCHING FOR DAVID. 

David took a harp, and played with his 
hand. Then Saul was refreshed and well, 
and the evil spirit departed from him. 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



199 



Saul became very jealous of David because 
he was to be king instead of himself, and 
because he was popular with the people, 
especially on account of his victory over 
Goliath, which we shall read about hereafter. 

Saul Persecutes David. 

David de i: vered Keilah, that is in the plain 
of the sea, from the hand of the Philistines. 
And when Saul heard that he was there, he 
said, God hath delivered him into my hand ; 
for he is shut in, having entered into a town 
that hath gates and bars. 

So he called together all the people to war, 
to besiege David and his men in Keilah. But 
David was aware of his coming, and departed 
from Keilah. Therefore Saul forbore to go 
down. 

After this David abode in the wilderness 
of Ziph, which is near unto Hebron. And 
the men of Ziph sent to Saul, saying, David 
doth hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, 
which is on the south of the wilderness. 
Come down, therefore, O king, if thou wilt, 
for it is in our power to deliver him into thy 
hand. 

And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the Lord ; 
for ye have compassion on me. Go therefore 
now and see where his haunt is, for it is told 
me that he dealeth very subtilly. Take 
knowledge, therefore, of all the lurking- 
places where he hideth himself, and come ye 
again to me with the certainty of the matter ; 
and if he be in the land, I will search him 
throughout all the thousands of Judah. 

Then the men went to Ziph before Saul ; 
and Saul and his men came searching for 
David, and came near to take him ; for Saul 
was on this side of the mountain, and David 
and his men on that side. 

But there came a messenger unto Saul, 
saying, Haste thee, and come; for the 
Philistines have invaded the land. Then 



Saul returned from pursuing after David, and 
went against the Philistines. Therefore that 
place was afterwards called 4< The Rock oi 
Escaping." 

About this time Samuel died ; and all the 
Israelites were gathered together, and lamen 
ted him, and buried him at Ramah, where he 
dwelt. 

After this Saul pursued after David yet 
again in the wilderness of Ziph. This time 
David found Saul sleeping, with his men 
round him ; and he took away the spear 
that was at his bolster, and the cruse of 
water. Thus did he spare his life a second 
time, for he would not slay the Lord's 
anointed. 

Saul and the Witch. 

When Samuel had been dead three years, 
the Philistines came up against the land of 
Israel,- and pitched in Shunem, which is in 
the land of Issachar ; and Saul gathered all 
Israel together, and pitched his camp in 
Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of 
the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart 
greatly trembled. 

And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the 
Lord answered him not, either by dreams, or 
by the Urim and Thummim of the high 
priest, or by the word of a prophet. Now 
before this, Saul had put away out of the 
land all that had familiar spirits, and all the 
wizards. Nevertheless, in his perplexity, he 
said unto his servants, Seek me now a woman 
that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to 
her, and inquire of her. 

And Saul's servants said to him, There is 
a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 
Then Saul disguised himself, and put on 
other raiment, and he went, and two other 
men with him, and they came to the woman 
by night. 

And he said to her. Help me, I pray thee ; 



^00 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



by thy familiar spirit, and bring him up whom 
I shall name unto thee. The woman said 
unto him, Thou knowest what Saul hath 
done, how he hath cut off those that have 
familiar spirits, and wizards, out of the land : 
wherefore then layest thou a snare for my 
life, to cause me to die ? 

Then Saul sware to her by the Lord, 



Saul. The king said unto her, Be not afraid ' 
what sawest thou ? 

The woman answered, I saw the shape as 
of a god ascending out of the earth. Saul 
said, What form is he of? 

The woman made answer, An old man 
cometh up ; and he is covered with a mantle. 
And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and 




SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 



saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no 
punishment happen unto thee for this thing. 
Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring 
up unto thee ? And he said, Bring me up 
Samuel. 

Then the woman used her incantations. 
But when she saw Samuel, she cried with a 
loud voice ; and she spoke to Saul, saying, 
Why hast thou deceived me ? For thou art 



he stooped with his face to the ground, and 
bowed himself. 

Then Samuel said,Why hast thou disquieted 
me, to bring me up ? And Saul said, I am 
sore distressed ; for the Philistines make war 
against me, and God is departed from me, 
and answereth me no more, neither by the 
word of prophets, nor by dreams : therefore 
I have called thee, that thou mayest make 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



201 



known unto me what I shall do. Then 
said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou 
ask of me, seeing that the Lord hath de- 
parted from thee, and hath become thine 
enemy ? And the Lord hath done to thee 
as he spoke by me : for he hath rent the 



Philistines : and to-morrow shalt thou and 
thy sons be with me among the dead : the 
very camp of the children of Israel will the 
Lord deliver into the hand of the Philistines, 
And when Saul heard these words, 
straightway he fell all his length upon the 




SAUL KJLLS HIMSELF BY 

kingdom out of thy hand, and hath given it 
to thy neighbor, even to David : because 
thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, 
nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, 
therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto 
thee this day. Moreover, the Lord will also 
deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the 



FALLING ON HIS SWORD. 

earth : and there was no strength in him ; for 
he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the 



night. 



Then the woman came unto Saul, and 
when she saw that he was sore troubled, she 
said unto him, Behold thy handmaid hath 
obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in 



202 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



my hand, and have hearkened unto the 
words which thou spakest unto me ; now 
therefore, I pray thee, hearken unto me, and 
let me set a morsel of bread before thee ; and 
eat, that thou mayest have strength when 
thou goest on thy way. But he refused, 
saying, I will not eat. 

Nevertheless his servants, together with 
the woman, compelled him ; and he heark- 
ened unto their voice ; and he arose from the 
ground, and sat upon the bench. And the 
woman had a fat calf in the house ; and she 
hasted, and killed it; she took flour also, and 
kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread 
thereof. These things she did set before Saul 
and his servants ; and they did eat. After- 
wards they rose up, and went away that night. 

Saul's Last Battle. 

The Israelites came down from Mount 
Gilboa, and pitched by the fountain that is in 
the valley of Jezreel. Then the Philistines 
fought with them ; and Israel fled before the 
Philistines to Mount Gilboa, and many fell 
down slain upon the mount. 

The Philistines followed hard upon Saul 
and his sons. His sons they slew, even 
Jonathan and Abinadab aud Melchishua. 
And the battle went sore against Saul, for 
the archers shot at him and wounded him, 
none daring to come near to smite him with 
the sword or the spear ; and Saul was sore 
afraid of the archers. 

Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw 
thy sword, and thrust me through therewith ; 
lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me 
through, and mock my body when I am 
dead. But his armor-bearer would not, for 
he feared to slay the king. 

Therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon 
it. And when his armor-bearer saw that he 
was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, 
and died with him. 



So Saul died, and his three sons and his 
armor-bearer, and all the men that were with 
him, that same day together. 

And there was a certain young man, an 
Amalekite, that saw when Saul slew himself. 
He took the crown from off the king's head, 
and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and 
took them to David where he abode with his 
men at Ziklag, and made pretence to David 
that he himself had slain the king. David 
made great lamentation over Saul and Jona- 
than his son ; but the young man he 
commanded to be slain, because he had 
condemned himself of having slain the Lord's 
anointed. 

And when they that dwelt in the plain of 
Jezreel and in the country eastward to Jordan 
saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul 
and his sons were dead, they forsook their 
cities and fled ; and the Philistines came and 
dwelt in them. 

What they Did with Him. 

On the morrow, when the Philistines came 
to strip the slain, they found Saul and his 
three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. 
And they cut off his head, and stripped off his 
armor, and sent into the land of the Philis- 
tines round about, to publish the matter in 
the temples of the idols and among the 
people. 

Saul's armor they hung up in the house of 
Astarte that was in Askelon, and his head 
they fastened in the temple of Dagon that 
was in Ashdod, and his body they fastened 
to the wall of Beth-shan. 

But when the men of Jabesh-gilead heard 
of that which the Philistines had done to 
Saul, all the men of war arose, and went all 
night, and took the body of Saul and the 
bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, 
and brought them to Jabesh-gilead, and 
burnt them there. 



CHAPTER XVI, 



B. C. 1063. 

The Story of David — Anointed by the Prophet — The Sling that Slew a Giant — 
The Enemy Routed — Saul's Anger Against David — Jonathan's Friendship — The 
Wanderer — Saul Spared by David — Abigail Sends a Present and Becomes David's 
Wife — What Happened at Ziklag — Startling News from the Field of Battle 




reading 



of 



E HAVE been 

David, and now we come 
to the story of this re- 
markable man. In the 
days of King Saul there 
dwelt at Bethlehem, in the 
land of Judah, a certain 
man whose name was Jesse. He was the 
son of Obed, and Obed was the son of Ruth 
the Moabitess and Boaz. This Jesse had 
eight sons and two daughters, and the 
youngest of his sons was David. 

The Lord, being displeased with Saul, 
said to Samuel, Fill thine horn with oil, and 
go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem : for I 
have provided me a king among his sons. 
So Samuel went. And the elders of Bethle- 
hem, knowing that he and the king were 
not friends, said to him, Comest thou peace- 
ably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come 
to sacrifice to the Lord; purify yourselves, 
and come to the sacrifice. He bade also 
Jesse and his sons purify themselves, and he 
invited them to the sacrifice. 

And when they came, and he saw Eliab 
the eldest, and perceived how goodly and 
call he was, he said, Surely the Lord's 
anointed is before him. But the Lord said, 
Look not on his countenance, nor on the 
height of his stature ; because I have refused 
him : for the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; 
for man looketh on the outward appearance, 



but the Lord looketh on the heart. Then 
Jesse made Abinadab, his second son, and 
then Shammah, his third son, ^ass before 
Samuel, and after these yet four others. But 
Samuel said, The Lord hath not chosen 
these. 

He said again, Are all thy children here ? 
Jesse answered, There remaineth yet the 
youngest, and he keepeth the sheep. Then 
Samuel said, Send and fetch him; for we 
will not sit down till he come. 

A Handsome Youth. 

So Jesse sent for him. Now he was a 
youth, short of stature, his hair of a ruddy 
color, his eyes bright, and he was fair to look 
upon. And when he came, the Lord said to 
Samuel, This is he ; arise, and anoint him. 
So Samuel anointed him in the midst of his 
brethren, and from that day the Spirit of the 
Lord came upon him. 

After these things Saul was troubled with 
a spirit of madness, and his servants said to 
him, Let us seek out a man that is a skillful 
player upon the harp. When the evil spirit 
shall come upon thee, he shall play with his 
hand, and thou shalt be well. Then Saul 
said to his servants, Find me now such a 
man, and bring him to me. One of them 
answered, I have seen a son of Jesse the 
Bethlehemite, that is skillful in playing, a 
valiant youth, and prudent of speech, and a 

203 



204 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



comely person. So Saul sent messengers 
unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, 
who is with the sheep. So Jesse sent a present 
of bread and wine and a kid by David to Saul. 
And David abode with Saul, and when the 
spirit of madness came upon the king David 
took his harp, and played with his hand, and 
Saul was refreshed and well. 



valley of the Terebinth There came a champ- 
ion out of the camp of the Philistines, named 
Goliath of Gath, whose height was over eight 
feet. And he was clad in a heavy coat of mail, 
with a helmet of brass upon his legs ; and be- 
tween his shoulders he carried a javelin of 
brass. The staff of his spear was like a 
weaver's beam, and the spear head weighed 




SAMUEL ANOINTING DAVID AT BETHLEHEM. 



After a while, because the king seemed to 
be healed of his madness, David departed 
from him and returned to Bethlehem, and 
fed his father's flocks, as he had done before. 
And while he was thus employed, the Philis- 
tines came up against Israel, and pitched their 
camp in Ephes-dammin, and Saul and the 
men of Israel pitched on the hills over 
against them, and between them was the 



about seventeen pounds. And one bearing 
a shield went before. 

And the man cried to the men of Israel, 
Choose you a man for you, and send him to 
fight with me. If he be able to kill me, then 
will we be your servants ; but if I prevail over 
him, and kill him, then shall ye serve us. 
But Saul and all Israel were dismayed at his 
words, for there was none that could match 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



205 



him in stature or in the strength of his armor. 
Forty days, day by day, did Goliath of Gath 
challenge the men of Israel. 

One day Jesse said to David his son, Go 
now to the camp and carry an ephah of 
parched corn, and these ten loaves to thy 
brothers in the camp, and see how they fare, 
and bring back an answer from them. Carry 
also these cheeses to the captain of their 
thousand. For the three eldest sons of 
Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. 

He Goes to the Battle. 

So David rose early in the morning, and 
left the sheep with a keeper, and came to the 
wagons with which the men of Israel had 
fortified their camp, as the host was going 
forth to the fight and shouted for the battle. 
Thereupon he left the things that he had 
brought with the keeper of baggage, and ran 
into the army, and saluted his brethren. 

And as he talked with them the champion 
of the Philistines came forth from their camp, 
and cried as he was wont; and David heard 
his words. But all the men of Israel fled at 
the sight of him, for they were sore afraid. 
They said to David, Hast thou seen this 
man that is come up to defy Israel ? The 
man that killeth him the king will enrich with 
great riches, and will give him his daughter 
to wife, and will make his father's house free 
of all tax and tribute. 

Then David said, What shall be done to 
the man that killeth this Philistine and taketh 
away the reproach from Israel ? For who 
is this Philistine that he should defy the 
armies of the living God ? And the people 
answered him in the same words. When 
Eliab his eldest brother heard how he spoke 
with the men, his anger was kindled against 
him, and he said, Why earnest thou hither ? 
With whom hast thou left those few sheep in 
the wilderness ? I know thy pride and the 



naughtiness of thine heart. Thou art come 
down to see the battle. But David answered, 
What harm have I done? Did not my 
father send me ? 

A Brave Answer. 

The words that David had said were told 
to Saul, and Saul sent for him. Then David 
said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail him 
because of this Philistine ; behold, thy 
servant will go and fight with him. Saul 
made answer, Thou art not able to fight with 
this Philistine ; for thou art but a youth, and 
he a man of war from his youth. But David 
said, I kept my father's sheep, and behold a 
bear came and took a lamb out of the flock; 
and as he was carrying it away, I overtook 
him, and slew him ; and as I returned to the 
flock a lion met me ; him also I took by the 
beard and slew. Thy servant slew both 
the lion and the bear, and this Philistine shall 
fare as these, seeing that he hath defied the 
armies of the living God ; for truly he that 
delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and 
out of the paw of the bear, will also deliver 
me out of the hand of this Philistine. 

So Saul said, Go, and the Lord be with 
thee. And Saul clad him in armor, and put 
a helmet upon his head, and gave him a 
sword to gird upon his side. But David had 
never made trial of such things, and when he 
endeavored to go in them, he could not. 
Therefore he put them off, and took his staff 
in his hand, and chose five smooth stones out 
of the brook that ran in the valley, putting 
them in his shepherd's wallet, and so went, 
having his sling in his hand, and drew near 
to the Philistine. 

The Philistine also came on, and drew 
near to David ; and when he looked about, 
and saw David, he despised him, for he was 
but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair 
countenance. And he said to David, Am I 



206 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



a dog that thou comest to me with staves ? 
And he cursed him by his gods, and said to 
him, Come near, and I will give thy flesh unto 
the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. 
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou 
comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, 
and' with a shield ; but I come to thee in the 



And when the Philistine drew near, David 
ran to meet him ; and as he ran he put his 
hand into his wallet, and took thence a stone, 
and threw it, and smote the Philistine on the 
forehead ; and the stone sank into his fore- 
head, and he fell upon his face to the earth. 

So David prevailed over the Philistine with 




DAVID SLAYING GOLIATH. 



name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 
whom thou hast defied. This day will the 
Lord deliver thee into mine hand ; and I will 
smite thee, and take thine head from thee ; 
and I will give the carcases of the host of 
the Philistines to the beasts of the field and 
the fowls of the air, that all the earth may 
know that there is a God in Israel. 



a sling and a stone. But, because he had 
no sword, he ran and stood upon the Philis- 
tine, and drawing the man's sword out of its 
sheath, smote off his head therewith. 

And when the Philistines saw that their 
champion was dead, they fled. And the 
men of Israel pursued them even to Gathand 
Ekron ; and when they returned from the 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



207 



pursuit they spoiled their tents. And David 
took the head of the Pnilistine and tns armor. 
But Saul said to Abner, captain ot cne nost, 
Abner whose son is this youth ? Ana Abner 
said, As thy son liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 

Then the king said, Inquire whose son the 
stripling is. And Abner brought David to 
Saul with the head of the Philistine in his 
hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son 
art thou, young man ? David said, I am the 
son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. 

That day Saul took him, and would let 
him go no more home to his father's house. 
Also Jonathan, that was Saul's son, and heir 
of his kingdom, loved him as his own soul ; 
and he gave him his own robe, and his 
sword, and his bow, and his girdle. After 
this Saul made him his armor-bearer, and set 
him over his men of war ; and on whatever 
errand David was sent he behaved himself 
wisely, and approved himself in the sight of 
the king's servants and of all the people. 

Saul Is Angry. 

But it came to pass one day that ashe was 
returning, having made a great slaughter of 
the Philistines, the women came out of all 
the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, and 
playing on instruments of music to meet him 
and the king. And one company sang, Saul 
hath slain his thousands, and the other com- 
pany answered, And David his ten thousands. 
Thereat Saul was very angry, for the saying 
displeased him ; and he said, They have 
ascribed to David his ten thousands, and to 
me they have ascribed thousands only ; now 
there is only the kingdom left for him. And 
from that day forward he looked jealously 
upon David. 

After a while madness came again upon 
Saul, and David played upon the harp to 
soothe him, as he had been wont to do at 
the first. But Saul sat with a javelin in his 



hand. Once he made as if he would have 
cast it at David ; but David escaped out of 
his presence. Again, another time, he struck 
at David with it : but David slipped away, 
and he smote the javelin into the wall. 

After this the king sent David away, 
making him captain of a thousand, in which 
command he behaved himself so wisely that 
all the people loved him. 

A Snare for David. 

Now hitherto Saul had riot fulfilled his 
promise that he would give his daughter to 
wife to the man who should slay the cham- 
pion of the Philistines. Therefore he said to 
David, Behold my elder daughter Merab ; 
her will I give thee to wife. Only be thou 
valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles. 
(But he ho ^d that David would be slain* by 
the Philisti./s, being unwilling to lay hands 
upon him nimself.) And David said to Saul, 
Who am I, and what is my father's house, 
that I should be son-in-law to the king? 
But at the time when Merab should have 
been given to David, she was given to Adriel 
of Meholah. 

Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. 
And when Saul knew of it, the thing pleased 
him, for he said to himself, Now will I make 
my daughter a snare to David, and he shall 
be slain by the Philistines. 

Then he commanded his servants that 
they say to David, Behold the king hath 
delight in thee, and all men love thee. 
Why shouldst thou not marry the king's 
daughter ? But David said, It is no easy 
thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing that I 
am a poor man. Then Saul's servants 
answered him, The king requireth no 
dowry from thee, such as he required of 
Adriel for his daughter Merab. Only bring 
him the spoils of a hundred Philistines. 

But the purpose of the king was that 




SAUL CASTING THE JAVELIN AT DAVID. 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



20§ 



David should fall by the hand of the Philis- 
tines. The thing pleased David, and before 
the time had expired wherein it had been 
covenanted that the king's daughter should 
be given him, he went forth, he and his men, 
and slew two hundred of the Philistines, and 
brought their spoils to the king. Then Saul 
gave him his daughter Michal to wife. 
Nevertheless from that time forward Saul 
hated David, and sought to slay him. 

For a time, indeed, Jonathan his son, who 
loved David exceedingly, turned the king 
from his purpose, for he said unto him, Let 
not the king sin against his servant David, 
because he hath not sinned against thee, but 
hath served thee well. Did he not take his 
life in his hand, and slay the Philistine, the 
Lord working great salvation for Israel by 
him. Thou sawest it, and didst rejoice. 
Wherefore then wilt thou shed innocent 
blood, slaying David without a cause ? 

Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan 
his son, and sware, As the Lord liveth, 
David shall not be slain. 

Escapes from a Window. 

Thence Jonathan brought David again into 
the presence of his father and he abode with 
him ; and when the Philistines came up again 
into the land of Israel, David went out 
against them, and slew them with a great 
slaughter. 

But when Saul in his madness sought to 
slay him with the javelin that he carried in 
his hand, David escaped by night to his own 
house. There the messengers of Saul watched 
him ; and Michal his wife said to him, If thou 
save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou 
wilt be slain. 

So that night Michal let David down from 

a window, and he fled. But she took an 

image, and laid it in the bed, and put a 

blanket of goat's hair over it, covering it up ; 

14 



and the spies of Saul thought that it was 
David's self. In the morning the king sent 
messengers to take David, and Michal said 
to them, He is sick. 

Then he sent them again, saying, Bring 
us up to him that we may see him. So 
Michal brought them up into the chamber: 
and behold there was an image in the bed 
covered with a blanket of goat's hair. 

Then Saul said unto Michal, Why hast 
thou deceived me thus, and caused my enemy 
to escape ? 

Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, 
Let me go; why should I kill thee? 

Thus David fled from Saul, and became 
an outcast in the land of Israel. 

When David was escaped from his house 
he fled to Samuel, to Ramah, where was the 
school of the prophets. Thither Saul sent 
messengers to take him ; but when the men 
saw the company of the prophets prophesy- 
ing, the Spirit of God came upon them, and 
they prophesied. Then the king sent other 
messengers, and they prophesied also ; and he 
sent a third time, and these also prophesied. 

Last of all he came himself; and the Spirit 
came upon him, and having stripped off his 
outer garments, he prophesied before Samuel, 
and lay down all that day and all that night. 

He Finds a Friend. 

In the meanwhile, David fled from Ramafe 
to the king's court, to Jonathan. And he 
said to Jonathan, What have I done? What 
is my offence? What is my sin before thy 
father, that he seeketh my life? 

Jonathan answered him, God forbid that 
this should be. My father will not do any- 
thing either great or small, but he will show 
it to me. It is not as thou fearest. 

But David said again, Thy father certainly 
knoweth that I have found grace in thy 
sight; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know 



-210 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



this, lest he be grieved. Verily there is but 
a step between my soul and death, for he 
hideth his purpose from thee. 

Then Jonathan said, Whatsoever thou 
wilt, I will do for thee. 

David said to Jonathan, To-morrow is the 
n^w moon, and I should not fail to sit with 
the king at meat — for the king had invited 
him, making as though he were reconciled — 
hnt let me go that I may hide myself for 
three days, till the feast be finished. If thy 
father at all miss me, then thou shalt say, 
David earnestly desired leave of me that he 
might hasten to Bethlehem, where there is a 
yearly sacrifice of his family. If thy father 
shall say, It is well, then shall I have peace; 
but if he be very wroth, then be sure that he 
hath determined evil against me. Deal 
therefore kindly with me; and if there be 
evil in me, slay me thyself. 

Jonathan answered, If I knew that my 
father had determined evil against thee, 
would I not tell thee? Then David said, 
How wilt thou tell me ? 

The Three Arrows. 

Then they went out together into the open 
country. And Jonathan said to David, 
Surely I will tell thee, if my father deter- 
mine evil against thee. And do thou show 
me kindness while I live; and when I am 
dead, cease not from showing kindness to 
my children after me, in the days when the 
Lord shall cut off all thine enemies from the 
face of the earth. 

So David and Jonathan made a covenant 
together. Then Jonathan said to David, 
Hide thyself by the stone Ezel. And on 
the third day I will come and shoot three 
arrows by the stone, as though I shot at a 
mark; and I will send a lad to find the 
arrows. If I say to him, The arrows are on 
this side of thee, take them; then come, for 



there is peace ; no harm is determined against 
thee. But if I say, The arrows are beyond 
thee; then go, for the Lord doth send thee 
way. 

So David hid himself by the stone Ezel. 
On the new moon the king sat down to the 
feast, and Jonathan sat by the king's right 
hand, and Abner on the other side; but 
David's place was empty. Nevertheless 
Saul said nothing that day. But on the 
morrow of the new moon, when David's 
place was again empty, Saul said to Jona- 
than, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse 
to the feast, either yesterday or to-day ? 

Jonathan answered, David earnestly desired 
leave of me that he might go to the yearly 
sacrifice of his family at Bethlehem, that he 
might see his brethren. Therefore he cometh 
not to the king's table. 

Jonathan is Grieved. 

Then Saul's anger was kindled againsr 
Jonathan, and he said, Thou son of thi 
rebellious and perverse woman, thou hast 
chosen the son of Jesse to thine own con- 
fusion. Surely as long as he liveth, thou 
shalt not be established in the kingdom. 
Wherefore now send and fetch him, that he 
may die. 

But Jonathan said, Wherefore should he 
be slain ? What evil hath he done ? 

Then Saul would have smitten him with 
a javelin. And Jonathan rose from the 
table in fierce anger, and did eat nothing on 
the second day of the feast, being grieved 
for the wrong that his father did to David. 

On the morrow Jonathan went at the time 
appointed to the place where David had hid- 
den himself, and shot the arrows as he had 
said. And he said to the lad, Run, find out 
now the arrows that I shoot. And as he 
ran, he shot an arrow beyond him ; and 
when the lad came to the place, he cried, Is 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



211 



not the arrow beyond thee? Make haste, 
speed, tarry not. So the lad gathered up the 
arrows and returned to his master; but he 
knew nothing of the matter. Only David 
and Jonathan knew. 

Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows 



covenant that is between me and thee, and 
between my seed and thy seed forever. So 
David departed, and Jonathan went back to 
the city to his father. 

David came to Nob, where at this time 
was the tabernacle and the dwelling of 




THE COVENANT BETWEEN DAVID AND JONATHAN. 



to the lad, and said, Go, carry them to the 
city. When the lad was gone, David rose 
up from his hiding-place, and bowed himself 
before Jonathan three times to the ground. 
And they kissed one another, and wept one 
with another. Then Jonathan said to David, 
Go in peace. The Lord be the witness of the 



Ahimelech the high-priest. Ahimelech was 
troubled at his coming, and said, Why art 
thou alone? For he had no companions, 
but only the young men his servants. David 
answered, The king, sent me on an errand, 
and commanded that none should know it. 
What provision hast thou ? Give me five 



212 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



loaves of bread, or whatever thou hast. 
The priest said, There is no bread here but 
the hallowed bread. For it was the custom 
that, day by day, certain loaves, that were 
called the shewbread, were put hot in the 
tabernacle, and those which had been put 
there the day before were taken away and 
given to the priests. The loaves, therefore, 
that had just been taken from the tabernacle 
did Ahimelech give to David and his young 
men. 

Then David said to the priest, Hast thou 
here spear or sword? For I have neither 
brought sword or any weapons with me, 
because the king's business required haste. 

The priest said, The sword of Goliath the 
Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley 
of Elah, wrapped in his cloak, is behind the 
ephod. If thou wilt take that, take it; there 
is no*ie other here save that. 

People Flock to Him. 

And David said, There is none like that ; 
give it me. From Nob he fled into the land 
of the Philistines to Achish, king of Gath. 
And when the servants of Achish saw him, 
they said, Is not this the champion of Israel, 
of whom the women sang, Saul hath slain 
his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 

And when David saw that he was known, 
he was sore afraid of what Achish might do 
to him. Therefore he feigned himself mad. 
Then said the king to his servants, Lo ! ye 
see the man is mad. Wherefore have ye 
brought him to me ? Have I need of mad- 
men, that ye have brought this fellow to play 
the madman in my presence? And he 
drove him away. 

Then David fled to the cave of Adullam. 
Thither came to him his father and his 
mother and his brethren ; the sons also of 
his sister Zeruiah — Joab, and Abishai, and 
Asahel. Many also that were in debt or had 



received injury from Saul, resorted to him; 
and certain Canaanites also, and Ahithophel 
the Hittite. Over these he became a captain; 
and there were with him about four hundred 
men. Also the prophet Gad came to him, 
and became his seer, delivering to him the 
oracles of God. 

Among them that resorted to him at this 
time were eleven warriors of the tribe of 
Gad ; men of war, whose faces were like the 
faces of lions, and who were swift as roes 
upon the mountains. These were they who 
swam over Jordan in the first month when 
it overflows all its banks, and put to flight 
the men of the valleys. 

He Captures the Robbers. 

Some even of the tribe of Benjamin, fel- 
low-tribesmen of King Saul, joined them- 
selves to his company. These were armed 
with bows, and could use both the right hand 
and the left in hurling stones and shooting 
arrows from a bow. But when others of 
this same tribe came with Amasa, that was 
son to Abigail, David's sister, David was 
troubled in mind, and going out to meet 
them, said, If ye be come peaceably unto 
me to help me, my heart shall be one with 
your hearts ; but if ye come to betray me to 
mine enemies, seeing that I have done you 
no wrong, the God of our fathers requite you 
for it. 

Then Amasa answered, We are thine, 
David : peace be unto thee and thy helpers ; 
for thy God helpeth thee. Then David 
received them, and made them captains in 
his band. 

About this time David went to Mizpeh of 
Moab, and said to the king of Moab, Let my 
father and my mother, I pray thee, abide 
with thee, till I know what God shall do for 
me. And they dwelt with the king of Moab 
as long as David was in the hold. 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



213 



After a while the prophet Gad said to 
David, Abide not in the hold. So he 
departed, and dwelt in the forest of Hareth. 
While he was there, there came some that 
told him, Behold the Philistines fight against 
Keilah, and rob the threshing-floors. And 
David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go and 
smite these Philistines ? And the Lord said, 
Go up and smite them and save Keilah. 
But David's men were afraid. Therefore he 
inquired again, and the Lord answered him 
as before. So David and his men went to 
Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and 
brought away their cattle, and smote them 
with a great slaughter. And he abode in 
Keilah. 

While he was there, there came to him 
Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech the priest, 
with the ephod in his hand. He only 
had escaped when Saul smote Nob, the city 
of the priests ; for when Saul had heard how 
Ahimelech had received David, and had given 
him bread to eat, and also the sword of 
Goliath, he sent Doeg the Edomite, who also 
had told him of the matter, to slay him. 

A Cruel Slaughter. 

So Doeg destroyed all that were in Nob — 
man, woman, and child. Only Abiathar 
escaped and fled to David. And David said 
to Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg 
the Edomite was there, that he would surely 
tell Saul ; I have occasioned the death of all 
the persons of thy father's house. Abide 
thou with me, fear not ; for he that seeketh 
thy life, seeketh my life ; but with me thou 
shalt be safe. 

When Saul heard that David was in 
Keilah, he said, God hath delivered him into 
my hand ; for he is shut in a town that hath 
gates and bars. But David knew that Saul 
intended mischief against him ; and he said 
to Abiathar the priest Will the men of 



Keilah deliver me into his hand ? And the 
Lord said, They will deliver thee. Then 
David and his men, six hundred in number, 
departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever 
they could; and the band was scattered, but 
David abode in the wilderness of Ziph that is 
between Hebron and Engedi. Saul sought 
him every day, but God delivered him not 
into his hand. 

The men of Ziph sent to Saul, saying, 
David hides himself in our country. Come, 
therefore; and our part shall be to deliver 
him into the king's hand. So Saul went 
down after him, and came near to taking 
him ; for Saul was on this side of the 
mountain, and David and his men on the 
other side of the mountain. But there came 
a messenger to Saul, saying, The Philistines 
have invaded the land. So he left ofT 
pursuing David, and went to fight against the 
Philistines. 

After this David dwelt in the strongholds 
of Engedi. When Saul heard of it, he 
pursued him with three thousand men. Now 
there was a cave wherein the shepherds kept 
their sheep, and Saul turned into it. But 
David and his men were in the back part of 
the cave. David's men said to him, Behold, 
the Lord hath given thine enemy into thy 
hand ! 

Saul in the Cave. 

Then David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe ; 
but Saul knew it not. Yet David's heart 
smote him for having done even so much ; 
for, said he, He is the Lord's anointed. 
Nor would he suffer his men to do aught 
against the king. But Saul rose up out of 
the cave, and went on his way. 

And when he was gone, David arose also, 
and cried after him, saying, My lord the 
king. And when Saul looked behind him, 
David stooped with his face to the earth. 



214 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



Then Saul said. Is this thy voice, my son 
David ? And he wept aloud. And he said 
to David, Thou art more righteous than I ; 
for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I 
have rewarded thee evil. To-day the Lord 
delivered me into thine hand, and thou 
killedst me not. If a man find his enemy, 
will he let him go ? And now, behold, I 



him, saying, Fear not ; for Saul my father 
shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king 
over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; 
and this my father knoweth. 

Then the two renewed their covenant 
that they had made between them ; and 
David abode still in the wood, but Jonathan 
returned to his house. And these two saw 




DAVID SPARES THE SLEEPING SAUL. 



know that thou shalt be king. Swear there- 
fore to me that thou wilt not cut off my 
posterity after me, nor destroy my name out 
ot my father's house. David swore this unto 
Saul ; and Saul returned to his place. 

Nevertheless he came once more pursuing 
David ir this same wilderness of Ziph. And 
David hid himself in the wood. Then Jona- 
than, Saul's son, came to him, and encouraged 



each other no more after that day. And 
when Saul had pitched his camp, he lay down 
to sleep behind the rampart of wagons, and 
the people lay round about him, with Abner 
the captain of the host. 

Then said David to Ahimelech and Abishai, 
Who will go down with me to Saul to the 
camp ? And Abishai said, I will go down 
with thee. 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



215 



So they went down ; and behold, Saul lay 
sleeping behind the wagons, and his spear 
was stuck in the ground by his bolster. 
Then Abishai said to David, God hath 
delivered thine enemy into thine hand. Let 
me now smite him with the spear into the 
earth ; I will not smite him a second time. 

But David said to Abishai, Destroy him 
not ; for who can stretch forth his hand 
against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless ? 
The Lord shall smite him ; or his day will 
come to die ; or he shall descend into the 
battle and perish ; but God forbid that I 
should stretch my hand against him. 

Then he took the spear and the cruse of 
water from Saul's bolster. After this the 
two got them away ; and no man saw it or 
knew it, for a deep sleep from the Lord had 
fallen upon them all. 

Then David went on the other side of the 
valley, and cried to Abner, the captain of the 
host, Answerest thou not, Abner ? 

Abner said, Who art thou that criest to 
the king ? 

And David said to Abner, Art thou not a 
valiant man ? Who is like thee in Israel ? 
Wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord 
the king ? For there came one of the people 
to destroy the king; and ye are worthy to 
die, because ye have not kept your master, 
the Lord's anointed. For see now where the 
king's spear is, and the cruse of water that 
was at his bolster. 

Their Last Meeting. 

Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this 
thy voice, my son David ? He answered, It 
is my voice, my lord, O king, Wherefore 
dost thou pursue after thy servant? For 
what have I done ? 

Saul said to David, I have sinned ; return, 
my son David ; for I will do thee no more 
harm, because my life was precious in thine 



eyes this day. Behold, I have played the 
fool, and erred exceedingly. 

David said, Behold the king's spear; let 
one of the young men come over and fetch 
it. The Lord render to every man according 
to his righteousness. Behold, as thy life was 
precious in mine eyes this day, so may my 
life be precious in the eyes of the Lord, and 
let him deliver me out of all tribulation. 

Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, 
my son David ! Thou shalt do great things, 
and shalt prevail. So David went on his 
way, and Saul returned to his place. Neither 
did these two meet any more. 

A Message to Nabal. 

Now there dwelt in the south of Carmel a 
certain rich man whose name was Nabal, of 
the house of Caleb. He had very great 
flocks — three thousand sheep and a thousand 
goats. A churlish man he was, and evil in 
his doings ; but his wife, Abigail by name, 
was a wise woman, and of a beautiful 
countenance. 

While Nabal was shearing his sheep, 
David sent to him ten young men with this 
message, Peace be to thee, and to thy house, 
and to all that is thine. We have not hurt 
thy shepherds when they were near to us; 
neither was there aught missing all the time 
that they were in Carmel. Ask thy servants 
whether it be not so. And now, seeing that 
this is a time of rejoicing with thee, give what- 
soever cometh to thy hand to thy servants, 
and to thy son David. 

The young men came to Nabal and spoke 
thus. But Nabal answered, Who is David? 
Who is the son of Jesse ? These are slaves 
that have run away from their master ; for 
there be many such nowadays. Shall I take 
my bread, and my water, and tie sheep that 
I have killed for my shearers, and give them 
unto men of whom I know not whence they be? 



216 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



So the messengers came back and told 
these words to David; and David said to his 
men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And 
they did so. And David said, Surely in vain 
have I kept all that this fellow hath in the 
wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all 
that pertained to him ; for now he hath 
returned evil for good. God do so and 
more also, to all the enemies of David, if I 
leave him aught remaining by to-morrow's 
light! And he went up with four hundred 
men after him ; but two hundred abode with 
the baggage. 

Message to Nabal's Wife. 

Meanwhile the servants of Nabal went to 
his wife Abigail and told her, saying, David 
sent messengers out of the wilderness to 
salute our master, and he railed on them. 
Now the men were very good to us, neither 
missed we anything, as long as we were in 
their company. They were as a wall to us 
by day and by night, so long as we stayed 
in the wilderness. Consider, therefore, what 
thou wilt do ; for there is evil determined 
against this household. 

Then Abigail made haste, and took two 
hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and 
a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred 
cakes of figs. These she laid upon asses, 
and on another ass she rode herself, and said 
to her men, Go on before with the present, 
but tell not the thing to Nabal. And as she 
went, she met David and his men. 

And when she saw him, she hasted, and 
lighted down from her ass, and fell upon her 
face, and said, Let this offence be upon me, 
my lord. Hearken now to the words of thy 
handmaid. Regard not this man Nabal; for 
as is his name (which means fool), so is he. 
But I thine handmaid did not see the young 
men who came to him. But let this present 
which thine handmaid hath brought be for 



the young men that follow thee , and forgive 
our trespass, for Jehovah will make of my 
lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth 
his battles. 

"Go to Thy House in Peace." 

Then David said to Abigail, Blessed be 
the Lord God of Israel, who hath sent thee 
this day to meet me ; and blessed be thou, 
who hast kept me from shedding blood, and 
from avenging myself with my own hand. 
For in very deed, except thou hadst hasted 
and come to meet me, I had not left aught 
alive to Nabal by the morning light. 

So David received of her hand the present 
which she had brought, and said to her, Go 
to thy house in peace; behold I have accepted 
thy request. 

So Abigail returned to Nabal her husband ; 
and he held a great feast, as the feast of a 
king ; and his heart was merry within him, 
for he was very drunken. Therefore she 
told him nothing, good or bad, till the morn- 
ing light. But the next day, when the wine 
was gone out of him, she told him all, both 
the danger in which he had been, and the 
present that she had given to David. And 
when he heard it, his heart died within him, 
and he became as a stone. And on the 
tenth day he died. 

After these things Abigail became David's 
wife. Now Michal, daughter of Saul, that 
had been married to him before, had been 
taken from him, and had been given to 
another. 

As Saul pursued hard after David, David 
said in his heart, I shall now perish one day 
by the hand of Saul ; there is nothing better 
for me than I should escape into the land oi 
the Philistines ; and Saul shall not seek me 
any more in the borders of Israel. So he 
took the six hundred men that were with 
him, and fled to Achish, the king of Gath. 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



217 



And Achish gave him the town of Ziklag in 
which to dwell. 

David deceived Achish, making pretence 
that he invaded the land of Israel, while in 
truth he had invaded the land of the 
Amalekites, and of the other tribes that 
dwelt thereabouts. Achish therefore said, 
He hath made his own people utterly to abhor 



king. And the king said, Thou shalt be 
captain of my bodyguards. 

Then the Philistines gathered together all 
their armies to Aphek, and the men of 
Israel pitched their camp by a fountain that 
was in Jezreel. And David and his men 
were in the rearward of the army with 
Achish the king. 




Abigail's present to david. 



him; therefore will he be my servant for ever. 
After these things there arose war between 
Israel and the Philistines. And Achish said 
to David, Thou shalt go with me to battle, 
thou and thy men. And David answered 
craftily, Consider in what place thou wilt put 
me; for neither would he fight against his 
own people, nor would he give offence to the 



Then said the princes of the Philistines, 
What do these Hebrews here ? Achish ans- 
wered, Is not this David, whom Saul his 
master would have slain ? He hath beer 
with me many days, yea years, and I have 
found no fault in him since he came to me 
to this day. 

But the princes said, Make this fellow go 



218 



THE STORY OF DAVID. 



back to the place which thou hast given him 
to dwell in, and let him not go down with 
us to battle, lest he turn against us in the 
battle. How could he better reconcile him- 
self to his master than with our lives ? For 
is not this David of whom they sang one to 
another in dances — 

1 ' Saul slew his thousands, 
And David his ten thousands? " 

Then Achish called David, and said unto 
him, As the Lord liveth, I have found thee 
upright ; no evil have I seen in thee since 
the day of thy coming unto this day. Nev- 
ertheless the princes love thee not. Where- 
fore now go back to thy place in peace that 
thou displease not the princes. 

David and His Men Return. 

David answered,What evil hast thou found 
in me that I may not go and fight against 
the enemies of my lord the king. 

Achish said, Thou art good in my sight 
even as angel of God. Nevertheless the 
princes of the Philistines have said, He shall 
not go with us to the battle. Therefore rise 
up early in the morning with thy men, and 
so soon as ye have light, depart. 

So David and his men returned to the 
land of the Philistines, and on the third day 
they came to Ziklag where they dwelt. And 
the Amalekites had come up out of the south 
country, and had smitten Ziklag, and had 
burned it with fire. The women they had 
carried away captives ; they had slain none, 
but had taken all and gone their way. 

And when David and his men came to the 
city, lo, it was wasted with fire ; and their 
wives and children had been carried away 
captives. Then they wept till they had no 
more power to weep. And the people were 
•very angry with David because he had 



provoked the Amalekites, and because he 
had left the town without defence. And they 
would have stoned him ; therefore was he 
sorely distressed. So David inquired of the 
Lord, Shall I pursue after these robbers ? 
Shall I overtake them ? And he answered, 
Pursue after them, for without doubt thou 
shalt overtake them, and recover all. 

Startling News. 

So David pursued after them, he and his 
six hundred men with him. But when they 
came to the brook Besor, two hundred men 
were so faint that they could go no farther, 
and they abode by the brook. But David, 
with the four hundred, pursued after the 
Amalekites. 

Two days did David abide in Ziklag after 
he had returned from the slaughter of the 
Amalekites. And on the third day there 
came a man out of the camp of Saul ; for 
Saul had encamped on Mount Gilboa, and 
had done battle there with the Philistines. 
And the man had his clothes rent, and earth 
upon his head. 

And when he came to David, he fell to 
the earth and did obeisance. And David 
asked him, Whence comest thou ? The man 
said, Out of the camp of Israel have I 
escaped. And David said, How went the 
matter ? I pray thee tell me. He answered, 
The people fled before the Philistines, and 
many are dead ; Saul also is dead, and Jona 
than his son. 

Then David rent his clothes; and so also 
did all the men that were with him. And 
they mourned, and wept, and fasted until 
evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, 
and for all the people of the Lord, because 
they were fallen by the sword, and had per- 
ished out of the land. 




PEACE AND JOY. 



219 




THE NAME OF THE LORD. 



220 



CHAPTER XVII, 



B. C. 1056. 

The Reign of David — War with the Philistines — The Ark Brought to Jerusalem- 
David and Uriah — Nathan's Rebuke — Parable of the Ewe Lamb — The Dead Child 
- — Rebellion of Absalom — David's Flight — A Great Battle — Death of Absalom — 
David's Grief — A Kiss and a Stab — Terrible Pestilence — David Yields his Throne 
to Solomon. 




AUL and his sons had fallen on 
Mount Gilboa, and the army of 
Israel was destroyed ; then those 
who dwelt in the plains of Jez- 
reel and by the borders of Jordan 
fled from their cities, and the 
Philistines came and dwelt in 
them. Then the men, seeing that they 
wanted a leader, arose and anointed David 
to be their king ; and when David inquired 
of the Lord in which of the cities of Judah he 
should set up his kingdom, the Lord said 
that he should set it up in Hebron. But 
Abner, that was captain of Saul's host, took 
Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and made him 
king over the rest of Israel ; and Ishbosheth 
reigned in Manhanaim that is on the other 
side of Jordan eastward. 

After a while Abner went out with a 
company of men from Manhanaim to Gibeon 
in the land of Benjamin, for he would have 
the son of Saul dwell in the midst of his 
father's tribe ; and Joab, the son of Zeruiah, 
wen*- out against him with the servants of 
David. These two met by the pool in 
Gibeon, and encamped, the one on the one 
side of the pool and the other on the other 
side of the pool. Then Abner said to Joab, 
Let us choose champions from our com- 
panies, and let them fight together before us. 
So they chose champions from each company 



— twelve of the tribe of Benjamin, which 
followed Saul, and twelve of the servants of 
David. And the twelve fought against the 
twelve. They caught every one his fellow by 
the head, and thrust his sword into his fellow's 
side ; so they all died together. Wherefore 
that place was called in after time, the Field 
of the Sharp Swords, because the victory had 
fallen neither to these champions nor to those. 
After this, there was a very sore battle ; and 
Abner and the men of Israel fled before the 
servants of David. 

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David 
in Judah, saying, Behold, we are thy bone 
and thy flesh. In time past, when Saul was 
king over us, thou wast he that leddest out 
Israel and broughtest them back. And the 
Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my 
people Israel, and be a captain over Israel. 

Then David the king made a covenant 
with them in Hebron before the Lord, and 
they anointed him king over Israel. And 
after he was anointed they abode with David 
three days eating and drinking, for their 
brethren that dwelt near to the city had 
prepared a great store of good things for 
them ; bringing food on asses and camels 
and mules and oxen, even meal, and cakes of 
figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and 
oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly ; for 
there w r as joy in Israel. 

221 



222 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



Thirty years old was David when he began 
to reign. For seven years and six months 
he reigned in Hebron over Judah, and in 
Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years 
over all Israel and Judah. 

When David had been anointed king over 



blind to man the walls. And David was 
angry, and said, Whosoever smiteth the 
Jebusites shall be captain of the host. Then 
Joab, the son of Zeruiah, climbed up first and 
smote the garrison, and David made him 
captain of the host. 




DAVID ANOINTED KING OVER ISRAEL. 



all Israel, he went up to Jerusalem, he and 
all the men of war with him, that he might 
set up his throne therein, for Jerusalem 
belonged as yet to the children of Jebus. 
Now the citadel, which was called Mount 
Zion,was so strong that the Jebusjtes laughed 
David to scorn, putting the maimed and the 



When Hiram, king of Tyre, heard how 
David had taken the stronghold of the 
children of Jebus, he sent an embassy to 
him. Also he sent cedar trees from Lebanon, 
and carpenters and masons, that they might 
build a palace for the king. 

Now the Philistines had heard that David 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



223 



had been anointed king over Israel, and they 
came up against him with their whole host. 
David therefore went down to the stronghold 
that was by the cave of Adullam, and there 
abode with his men of war ; and the Philis- 
tines spread themselves in the valley of the 
giants. 

And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I 
go up against the Philistines? And the 
Lord said, Go up; for I will doubtless 
deliver the Philistines into thy hand. So 
David went up, and smote them ; and he 
called the name of the place where he smote 
them The Land of the Breaking-forth, 
because the Lord, he said, has broken forth 
upon mine enemies, even as waters break 
forth. For so suddenly had they fled that 
they left behind them the images of their 
gods, and these David and his men burned 
with fire. 

When David had rest from his wars, he 
went, and the chosen men of Israel with him, 
to fetch the ark from Kirjath-jearim, where 
it had been since the time when it was sent 
back by the Philistines, and he brought it to 
Jerusalem with great gladness. He and all 
the house of Israel brought up the ark of 
the Lord with shouting and with the sound 
of a trumpet. 

What Nathan Said. 

After this he said to Nathan the prophet, 
See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the 
ark of God dwelleth in a tent. Shall I build 
a house for it? And Nathan said, Go, do 
all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with 
thee. 

When David was at rest from his wars, he 
said, Is there yet any that is left in the house 
of Saul, that I may show him kindness for 
Jonathan's sake? Now there was a servant 
of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, 
and they brought him to David, and when 



David asked him cone jrning the house of 
Saul, he said, Jonatbar hath yet a son who 
is lame in the feet So David sent and 
fetched him. An', when he came unto 
David, he fell c his face, and did him 
reverence. 

And David said, Mephibosheth. And he 
answered, Behold thy servant. Then David 
said, Fear not; I will surely show thee 
kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and 
will restore thee all the land of Saul thy 
father's father ; and thou shalt eat bread at 
my table continually. 

Then Mephibosheth bowed himself before 
the king, and said, What is thy servant, that 
thou shouldest look on such a dead dog as 
I am ? The king called Ziba and said, 
I have given unto thy master's son all that 
pertained to Saul. Now therefore thou and 
thy sons and thy servants shall till the lands, 
and shall pay of their produce to Mephi- 
bosheth. And Ziba said, According to all 
that my lord the king hath commanded, so 
will thy servant do. 

David's Great Sin. 

After this Nahash, king of the children of 
Ammon, died, and Hanun, his son, reigned 
in his stead. Then said David, I will show 
kindness unto Hanun, the son of Nahash, 
even as his father showed kindness unto me. 
So David sent messengers to comfort him. 

In the next year, at the time when kings 
go forth to battle, David sent Joab and the 
host against the city of Rabbah, but he 
himself tarried in Jerusalem. And being 
there he sinned a great sin, for he took 
Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and 
caused that Uriah, her husband, should be 
slain. The way of his doing it was this. 

He wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by 
the hand of Uriah, for Uriah had come to 
Jerusalem, saying, Set ye Uriah where the 




DAVID BRINGING THE ARK TO JERUSALEM WITH GREAT REJOICING- 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



225, 



battle is hottest, and retire from him, that he 
may be smitten and die. Then Joab assigned 
to Uriah a place where valiant men of the 
city were. These made a sally from the city, 
and the men of Israel fled before them, and 
Uriah was left alone, and was slain. 

Then Joab sent a messenger to David to 
tell him of that which had happened ; and he 
said to the messenger, If the king's wrath 
arise, so that he say to thee, Why went ye 
so near to the city ? Knew ye not that they 
would shoot from the walls? Did not a 
woman cast a piece of millstone from the 
wall of Thebez upon Abimelech, so that he 
died ? Then shalt thou say, Thy servant 
Uriah, the Hittite, is dead also. The messen- 
ger went and showed David all that Joab 
had sent him for. And David said unto the 
messenger, Say unto Joab, Let not this thing 
trouble thee, for the sword devoureth one as 
well as another; make thy battle strong 
against the city, and overthrow it. 

When Uriah's wife had mourned for her 
husband seven days, David took her to be 
his wife, and she bore him a son. But the 
thing David had done displeased the Lord. 

The Poor Man's Lamb. 

Therefore the Lord sent Nathan the 
prophet unto David. And he came and 
said, Give me thy judgment in this matter. 
There were two men in one city ; the one 
rich and the other poor. The rich man had 
very many flocks and herds ; but the poor 
man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, 
which he had bought and nourished up ; and 
it grew up in the house with him, and with 
his children. It did eat of his own bread, 
and drank of his own cup, and lay in his 
bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 

And there came a traveller unto the rich 
man, and he spared to take of his own flock 
and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfar- 
15 



ing man that had come unto him ; but took 
the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the 
man that was come unto him. 

And David's anger was greatly kindled 
against the man ; and he said to Nathan, As 
the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this 
thing is worthy to die. He shall restore the 
lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and 
because he had no pity. 

Then Nathan said to David, Thou art the 
man. Thus saith the Lord, I anointed thee 
to be king over Israel, and gave thee all that 
was Saul's thy master's. And if this had 
been too little, I would have given thee 
more. Wherefore, then, hast thou despised 
the commandment of the Lord, and taken the 
wife of Uriah to be thy wife, and slain him 
with the sword of the children of Amnon ? 
Now therefore the sword shall never depart 
from thy house. 

The Child Must Die. 

Then David said unto Nathan, I have 
s'nned against the Lord. 

And Nathan said to David, The Lord hath 
put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die. 
Nevertheless, because by this deed thou hast 
given to the enemies of the Lord great 
occasion to blaspheme, the child that has 
been born unto thee shall surely die. And 
Nathan departed to his house. 

After this the child that Uriah's wife had 
borne to David was very sick. And David 
besought God for the child, and fasted, and 
went to his chamber, and lay all night upon 
the ground. And when the elders of his 
house would have raised him up from the 
earth, he refused; neither would he eat 
bread. On the seventh day the child died. 
The servants of David feared to tell him that 
the child was dead ; for they said, Behold, 
while the child was yet alive, we spoke unto 
him, and he would not hearken unto our 



226 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



voice ; what hurt will he do to himself if we 
tell him that the child is dead ? 

But when David saw that his servants 
whispered together, he perceived that the 
child was dead. Then he said to his servants, 
Is the child dead? And they said, He is 
dead. 

Thereupon David arose from the earth, 



And he said, While the child was yet 
alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can 
tell whether God will be gracious to me, that 
the child may live ? But now he is dead f 
wherefore should I fast ? Can I bring him 
back again ? I shall go to him, but he shall 
not return to me. 

After this David's wife Bathsheba bore hin v 




DAVID MOURNING THE DEATH OF II IS CHILD. 






and washed, and anointed himself, and 
changed his apparel, and came into the house 
of the Lord, and worshipped. Then said his 
servants unto him, What thing is this that 
thcu hast done ? Thou didst fast and weep 
for the child while it was alive ; but when 
the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat 
bread ? 



another son ; and David called his name 
Solomon ; and the Lord loved him, and sent 
by Nathan the prophet that he should have 
also the name Jedidiah, which is by interpre- 
tation, Beloved of the Lord. 

Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah, 
and took it. And he sent to David, saying, 
I have fought against Rabbah, and have 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



227 



taken the Lower City. Now gather the rest 
of the people together, and encamp against 
the Upper City, and take it; lest I take it, 
and the glory of its taking be mine. 

So David went up against Rabbah, and 
took it. The crown that was upon the head 
of Milcom their god he took and set on his 
own head ; and the people he put to death 
with fire and sword. 

Every Man a Soldier. 

Now the army of David was ordered in 
this fashion. First, there was the band of 
the Six Hundred that were called The 
Mighty Men. These had been with him 
when he wandered in the wilderness; and 
when one died, another was chosen in his 
place. The Six Hundred were in three 
bands, and each band again was in ten com- 
panies ; and for each band was there a chief 
and for each company a leader. The chiefs 
of the bands were the Three, and the leaders 
of the companies the Thirty. But the 
captain of the Six Hundred was Abishai, the 
brother of Joab. 

Second, there was the Body-guard, that 
was called the Cherethites and Pelethites. 
Their captain was Benaiah, the son of 
Jehoiada. 

Third, there was the Host, to which every 
man of the children of Israel was called, 
being grown to manhood, not yet disabled 
by age. And this Host was divided into 
twelve parts, for each month one, and the 
number of a part was four and twenty 
thousand. The leaders of the parts were 
from the Body-guard or the Six Hundred ; 
and the captain of the Host was Joab. 

When David was growing old, there arose 
a great quarrel between two of his sons, 
namely, Amnon, his eldest born, and Absalom , 
for Absalom hated Amnon, not without 
cause. After a while Absalom had a shearing 



of sheep in the land of Ephraim. Amnon 
was there and was slain by the servants of 
Absalom. 

But Absalom fled to Geshur, to Talmai 
his mother's father. 

After a while David was comforted for the 
death of his son Amnon; and he longed to 
see Absalom again; and would have called 
him back, but that all his household and his 
servants were against him in this matter. 
But when Joab perceived how the king's 
heart was inclined, he devised means for 
strengthening him in his purpose. 

The king sent for Joab and said, Let the 
young man come back to his house, but let 
him not see my face. So Joab went, and 
fetched Absalom from Geshur, and Absalom 
returned to his house. 

Now in all Israel there was not one to be 
praised so much for his beauty as Absalom. 
From the sole of his foot to the crown of his 
head there was no blemish in him. His hair, 
which he cut every year, was very thick and 
heavy. 

For two years Absalom dwelt in Jerusalem, 
and saw not the king's face. Therefore he 
sent for Joab, that Joab might bring him 
unto the king. Twice he sent for him, but 
Joab would not come. 

Burning the Barley Field. 

Then Absalom bade his servant set fire to 
a field of barley that was Joab's, and near to 
his own. And they set the field on fire. 
Then Joab came to Absalom, and said, 
Wherefore have thy servants set my field on 
fire? Absalom said, Because thou wouldest 
not come to me. Wherefore am I come 
from Geshur ? It had been good for me to 
abide there. Let me now therefore see the 
king's face, and if I have done wrong, let him 
kill me. 

So Joab brought Absalom before the king, 




DAV*D PARDONING ABSALOM 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



229 



and Absalom bowed himself on his face to 
the ground before the king, and the king 
kissed him. - 4 

After these things Absalom thought to 
make himself king in the room of his father 
David. First he prepared for himself chariots 
and horses and fifty men to run before him. 
Also he rose up early, and stood in the way 
that led to the gate of the city ; and when 
any man brought a cause to the king for 
judgment, Absalom called him, and said, Of 
what city art thou ? And the man would 
answer, Thy servant is of such or such a 
tribe. 

Then Absalom said, Thy cause is good and 
right ; but there is no man deputed of the 
king to hear thee. Further he said, Oh that 
I were made judge in the land, that every 
man that had any suit or cause might come 
unto me, and I would do him justice! 
Furthermore, when any man came nigh to 
him to do obeisance to him, he put forth his 
hand, and took him, and kissed him. So 
Absalom stole the hearts of the men of 
Israel. 

Calls Himself King. 

After four years he sent to the king, I pray 
thee, let me go and fulfill my vow which I 
have vowed unto the Lord in Hebron. For 
thy servant vowed a vow when I abode at 
Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall 
indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then 
will I serve the Lord. The king said, Go in 
peace. 

Now Absalom had sent men secretly 
throughout all the tribes of Israel, who should 
cry, when they heard the sound of the 
trumpet, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. So 
Absalom arose and went to Hebron, and two 
hundred men with him, that went as guests 
to his feast. They went in their simplicity, 
and knew not anything of the matter. Also 



he sent for Ahithophel, David's counsellor. 
Now Ahithophel was grandfather to Bath- 
sheba, that had been wife to Uriah the 
Hittite, whom David had slain ; and he ore 
ill-will to David for this matter. 

Then came a messenger to David, saying, 
The hearts of the men of Israel are gone 
after Absalom. Then David said unto his 
servants that were with him at Jerusalem, 
Arise, let us flee ; for we shall not else escape 
from Absalom ; make speed to depart, lest 
he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon 
us, and smite the city with the edge of the 
sword. 

The king's servants said unto him, Behold 
thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my 
lord the king shall appoint. 

David's Flight. 

So the king went forth, and all the people 
after him ; and he abode that night in a 
house that was called the Far House. The 
Six Hundred also went with him under 
Ittai the Gittite. Then said the king to 
Ittai, Wherefore goest thou also with us ? 
Return to thy place, and serve the new king. 
Thou art but a stranger here, and earnest but 
yesterday. Why then should I make thee 
go with me when I am driven forth ? Return 
thou, and take thy brethren with thee. 
Mercy and truth be with thee ! 

Ittai answered the king, and said, As the 
Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, 
surely in what place my lord the king shall 
be, whether in death or life, there shall thy 
servant be. 

Then David said to Ittai, Pass over Kidron, 
and he passed over with his men. And all 
the country wept with a loud voice, as the 
king passed over the brook, going the way of 
the wilderness. 

And Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites 
that were with them, came bearing the ark of 



230 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



the covenant, But David said, Carry the ark 
back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes 
of the Lord he will bring me back again, and 
I shall see both it and my own -house. But 
if he say, I have no delight in thee, then lo ! 
I am here. Let him do as it seemeth good 
to him. 

Then David went up to the Mount of 



And when he was come to the high place 
on the top of the mount, Hushai the Archite 
came to him with his coat rent and dust upon 
his head. David said unto him, If thou 
passest on with me, thou wilt be a burden 
unto me ; but if thou wilt return to the city, 
and wilt say to Absalom, As I have been thy 
father's servant hitherto, so will I be now thy 




SHIMEI CASTING 

Olives. Barefoot he was, and he had his 
head covered ; and all the people that were 
with him had their heads covered, and they 
also wept sore. And it was told David, 
Ahithophel is among them that are conspira- 
tors with Absalom. And David said, O 
Lord God, I pray thee, turn the counsel of 
Ahithophel into foolishness. 



STONES AT DAVID. 

servant, then thou mayest defeat for me the 
counsel of Ahithophel. Zadok and Abiathar 
the priests are with thee there. Therefore 
whatsoever thou shalt hear in the king's 
house, tell it to the priests ; and they shall 
send it unto me by their two sons, Ahimaaz 
and Jonathan. So Hushai returned to Jeru- 
salem ; and Absalom came into Jerusalem. 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



231 



As David went on by the border of 
Benjamin, one Shimei, that was of the house 
of Saul, came forth out of his house, cursing 
as he came. And he cast stones at David, 
and at his servants ; the people and the Six 
Hundred being on his right hand and his 
left. 

And Shime 1 ' said, Get thee out, thou man 
of blood, thou son of Belial ! The Lord hath 
returned upon thee all the blood of the house 
of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned ; 
and hath delivered the kingdom into the 
hands of Absalom, thy son. Behold, thou 
art taken in thine own evil, because thou art 
a man of blood. 

Absalom Seeking Counsel. 

Absalom asked Ahithophel for his counsel. 
Now the counsel of Ahithophel in those days 
was esteemed as the oracle of God ; by both 
David and Absalom was it so esteemed. 
Ahithophel therefore said, Let me choose out 
now twelve thousand men, and I will arise 
and pursue David this night ; and I will come 
upon him when he is weary and weak, and 
take him by surprise. All the people that 
are with him will flee, and I will smite the 
king only, and bring back the people to thee. 
If we slay David, then wilt thou have thy 
wish, and the people shall be in peace. 

This counsel pleased Absalom well, and 
all the elders of Israel. Nevertheless Absa- 
lom said, Call now Hushai, and let us hear 
likewise what he saith. 

So Hushai came, and when Absalom told 
him what Ahithophel had counselled, he 
said, The counsel of Ahithophel is not good 
at this time. Thou knowest that thy father 
and his men are mighty men, and that they 
are full of wrath, even as a bear that hath 
been robbed of her whelps. Also tliy father 
is a man of war from his youth. Therefore 
>my counsel is this, Gather all Israel together 



from Dan to Beer-sheba, till the host be as 
the sand that is by the sea for multitude ; 
and go also to battle in thine own person. 
We shall come upon him in his hiding-place, 
and overwhelm him, even as the dewcovereth 
the ground ; and of him and of all that are 
with him there shall not be left so much as 
one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, 
then shall Israel bring ropes unto that city, 
and we will draw it into the river, until there 
be not one small stone found there. 

Then Absalom and all the elders said, The 
counsel of Hushai is better than the counsel 
of Ahithophel. For the Lord had com- 
manded that the good counsel of Ahithophel 
should be defeated, that he might bring evil 
upon Absalom. 

Hushai told the whole matter to Zadok 
and Abiathar the priests, and said unto them, 
Send now to David, and warn him that he 
tarry not in the wilderness this night, but 
pass speedily over Jordan, lest he and the 
people that are with him be destroyed. For 
he feared even yet that the counsel of 
Ahithophel might be followed. 

They Escape Beyond Jordan. 

Then David and all the people that were 
with him passed quickly over Jordan. By 
the morning light there was not one that had 
not passed over. 

But when Ahithophel saw that his counse 5 
was not followed, he saddled his ass, and 
went to Giloh, his own city, and put his 
household in order, and handed himself. 

David came to Mahanaim, and pitched his 
camp there ; and Absalom and the men of 
Israel passed over Jordan, and pitched in 
Gilead. 

When David was come to Manhanaim, 
friends brought beds, and basins, and earthen 
vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and 
parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and 



232 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



honey, and butter, and sheep, and kine, for 
David and for the people that were with him 
in the wilderness, for they said, The people 
are hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the 
wilderness. 

Then David mustered the people that were 
with him, and set over them captains of 
thousands and captains of hundreds. A 
third part he gave to Joab, and a third part 
to Abishai, and a third part to Ittai. And he 
said to the people, I will surely go forth with 
you myself also. 

But the people answered, Thou shalt not 
go forth. If we flee, none will care ; no, nor 
if the half of us be slain. There are ten 
thousand like to us, but not one like thee. 
Therefore let it be thy part to succor us out 
of the city. 

Then the king said, What seemeth to you 
best that will I do. 

Anxious for Absalom. 

And he stood by the gate side, and all the 
people went out by their hundreds and their 
thousands. And the king commanded Joab 
and Abishai and Ittai, Deal gently with the 
young man Absalom for my sake. And all 
the people heard him when he thus spoke. 
So the people went out into the field against 
the men of Israel, and the two hosts met in 
a place that was called the wood of Ephraim. 
And Israel fled before the servants of David, 
and there was a great slaughter, for the battle 
was scattered over all the face of the country, 
and more were lost in the wood than fell by 
the sword. 

Absalom, as he fled, came upon the 
servants of David. Now he was riding on 
the king's mule, and as he rode he went under 
the boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his 
hair was caught in the boughs, so that he 
hanged between heaven and earth ; and the 
mule went away from under him. And a 



certain man saw it, and went and told Joab, I 
saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree. 

Joab said unto the man, Didst thou see 
him and not smite him there to the ground ? 
I would have given thee ten shekels of silver 
and a girdle. 

The man said, Though I should receive a. 
thousand shekels of silver, yet would I not 
put forth my hand against the king's son ; 
for in our hearing the king charged thee and 
Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none 
touch the young man Absalom. Verily I 
should have contrived mischief against myself; 
for nothing is hid from the king, and thou, 
thyself would have set thyself against me. 

Thrust Through With Darts. 

Joab answered, I may not lose time in- 
talking with thee. And he took three darts 
and thrust them into Absalom while he hung 
yet alive in the tree; and the young men that 
bore Joab's armor made an end of him. 

After this Joab blew the trumpet, and- 
called back the people from pursuing after 
Israel. But Absalom they took, and cast 
into a great pit in the wood, and piled a great- 
heap of stones over him. 

Now Absalom in his lifetime had reared a 
pillar for himself in the King's Vale near to 
Hebron ; for he said, I have no son to keep 
my name alive; and he called the pillar after 
his own name. 

Then said Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, Let 
me now run, and bear tidings to the king, 
how the Lord hath avenged him of his 
enemies. Joab said, Thou shalt not bear 
tidings this day, because the king's son is 
dead. But he said to a slave that he had, 
Run thou and tell the king what thou hast: 
seen. So the man bowed himself and ran. 

After which Ahimaaz said again to Joab, 
Let me run after thy messenger. Joab- 
answered,Why wouldst thou run, seeing that: 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



23$ 



thou hast nothing more to tell? Never- 
theless, when he urged him, he let him run. 

Now the slave ran by the way of the hills, 
and Ahimaaz by the way of the valley of 
Jordan ; and Ahimaaz outran the slave. 

The king sat between the two gates ; and 
the watchman that was on the roof above the 
gates saw a man running, and told the king. 
The king said, If he be alone, he bringeth 
tidings. And he came apace, and drew near. 
Then the watchman saw another man run- 
ning, and he called the porter and said, 
Behold another man running alone. And 
the king said, He also bringeth tidings. 

The watchman said, The running of the 
first is as the running of Ahimaaz, the son of 
Zadok. The king answered, He is a good 
man, and cometh with good tidings. 

Then Ahimaaz called unto the king, and 
said, All is well. And he fell to the earth on 
his face before the king, and said, Blessed be 
the Lord thy God, which hath held them 
back that lifted up their hand against my lord 
the king ! 

And the king said, Is the young man 
Absalom safe ? Ahimaaz answered, When 
Joab sent thy servant, I saw a great tumult, 
but I knew not the cause. So the king said, 
Turn aside and stand here. So he turned 
aside and stood still. Then came the other 
and said, Tidings, my lord the king ; for the 
Lord hath avenged thee this day of all that 
rose up against thee. 

David's Grief for His Son. 

And the king said to the man, Is the young 
man Absalom safe? The man said, The 
enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise 
against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young 
man is. 

And the king was much moved, and went 
up to the chamber over the gate and wept ; 
and as he wept he said, O my son Absalom, 



my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had 
died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son ! 

It was told Joab, saying, The king weep- 
eth and mourneth for Absalom. And the 
joy that day was turned into mourning for 
all the people ; for the people heard how the 
king was grieved for his son ; and the people 
went by stealth that day into the city, as 
people being ashamed steal away when they 
flee in battle. But the king covered his face, 
and cried with a loud voice, O my son 
Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son ! 

Now there was a certain evil man, whose 
name was Sheba, a Benjamite. He blew a. 
trumpet and said, We have no part in David, 
neither have we inheritance in the son of 
Jesse. Every man to his house, O Israel. 
So the men of Israel left following David 
and went after Sheba, but the men of Judah 
clave unto their king. Then David said to 
Amasa, Gather me the men of Judah within 
three days, and be thou present thyself. 
And Amasa went, but he tarried beyond the 
time. 

A Deadly Stab. 

Then said David to Abishai, Now shall 
Sheba do us mere harm than did Absalom. 
Take thou my cervantc and pursue him, lest 
he get into some fenced city, and escape us. 
So Abishai went out with Joab's men, and 
with the Six Hundred, to pursue after Sheba. 

When they were by the great stone at 
Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now 
Joab had on him his soldier's cloak, and 
beneath it his sword hanging from the belt ; 
and as he went to greet Amasa, the sword 
chanced to fall from his sheath. Then Joab 
picked it from the ground with his left hand, 
and with his right hand he took hold of 
Amasa's beard to kiss him, saying, Art thou 
in health, my brother ? But Amasa took no- 
heed to the sword that was in Joab's left hand. 



2d4 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



Then Joab smote him unawares with the 
sword under the fifth rib, nor needed to smite 
him again, for he fell dead. And Joab and 
Abishai pursued after Sheba. Then one of 



the field, and cast a cloth over him. After 
this all the people followed Joab. 

After these things David was moved in 
the pride of his heart to number Israel ; and 




DAVID INSTRUCTING JOAB TO NUMBER THE PEOPLE. 



Joab's servants cried, He that is for David, 
let him follow after Joab ; and when he saw 
that all the people tarried where they saw 
Amasa lying in his blood in the midst of the 
highway, he took him from the highway into 



he said to Joab, Go through all the tribes and 
take the number of the people. 

Joab said to the king, The Lord thy God 
add to the people, how many soever they be, 
an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my 



THE REIGN OF DAVID 



235 



lord the king may see it; but why doth my 
lord the king delight in this thing? 

Nevertheless the word of the king pre- 



Jerusalem, and gave the number of the 
people to the king. Of Israel there were 
eight hundred thousand fighting men, and of 




vailed against Joab. So he and the captains 
of the host went through all the land num- 
bering the people, and at the end of nine 
months and twenty days they came again to 



AN ANGEL GOES FORTH TO SMITE THE LAND. 

Judah five hundred thousand. But David's 

heart smote him that he had done this thing. 

The numbering of the people by David 

was an act of distrust in God. Instead of 



236 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



trusting the Lord to give success to his 
army, he wished to know before he went 
forth to any more battles that he had an 
army able to prevail against his foes. If he 
had felt perfect trust in the Lord of Hosts he 
would not have stopped to ask whether his 
army was great or small. 



strait. Let me fall down into the hand of 
the Lord, for his mercies are great, and let 
me not fall into the hand of man. So the 
Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, and there 
died of the people seventy thousand men. 

And David saw the angel of the Lord by 
the thrashing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite., 




DAVID BUILDS 

Then Gad, David's seer, came to him and 
said, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three 
things. Choose thee one of them that I may 
do it unto thee. Shall seven years of famine 
come unto thee in thy land ? Or wilt thou 
flee three months before thine enemies? Or 
shall there be three days ' pestilence in the land ? 

David said unto Gad, I am in a great 



A NEW ALTAR. 

that was in the stronghold of Jerusalem, 
And David said, I have sinned, and done 
wickedly ; but these sheep, what have they 
done ? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be 
against me, and against my father's house. 

That day came Gad, the seer, to David,, 
and said, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord in 
the thrashing-floor of Araunah. And David 



THE REIGN OF DAVID. 



237 



did as the Lord commanded. And Araunah 
saw the king and his servants coming, and 
tie went out, and bowed himself before the 
king on his face to the ground. 

Araunah said to the king, Wherefore is 
my lord the king come to his servant? The 
king answered, To buy the thrashing-floor of 
•thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that 
•the plague may be stayed from the people. 

Then Araunah said to David, Let my 
ilord the king take and offer up what seemeth 
good to him. Behold, here are oxen for 
burnt sacrifice, and the thrashing instruments 
and harness of the oxen for wood. All 
these things did Araunah, as a king, give to 
the king, saying, The Lord thy God accept 
thine offering. 

But the king said, Nay, but I will buy 
these things of thee for a price ; neither will 
I offer burnt-offerings to the Lord my God of 
that which doth cost me nothing. 

So David gave to Araunah for the thrash- 
ing-floor and for the oxen and for the instru- 
ments fifty shekels of gold, that is, about 
five hundred dollars. And he built there an 
altar, and offered sacrifice. And after this 
the plague was stayed. 

When David was old, Adonijah, his eldest 
son, thought in his heart to be king. He 
was a very goodly man, and younger than 
Absalom ; and his father had never thwarted 
him at any time. And he conferred with 
Joak and Abiathar, and they followed him ; 
but Zadok and Nathan, and the rest of the 
Six Hundred were against him. 



Adonijah made a great feast at the Fuller's 
Fountain, and called all his brethren the 
king's sons, and all the king's servants, but 
Nathan and Benaiah and Solomon and the 
Six Hundred he called not. 

They Ask David About It. 

Nathan said to Bathsheba, Hast thou not 
heard that Adonijah is king, and David our 
lord knoweth it not ? Let me, I pray thee 
give thee wise counsel, that thou, mayest save 
thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. 
Go, get thee in unto King David, and say, 
Didst thou not swear unto thine handmaid 
that Solomon, my son, should reign after 
thee ? Why then doth Adonijah rei^n ? 
Behold, while thou talkest there with the 
king, I also will come in and confirm thy 
words. 

So Bathsheba went in unto the king, and 
did obeisance, and spoke as Nathan had 
bidden her ; and she told him what Adonijah 
had done. While she yet talked with the 
king Nathan came in and bowed himself to 
the ground before the king, and he said, My 
lord, O king, is it thy pleasure that Adonijah 
should reign after thee ? Lo ! he hath made 
a great feast, and called thereto the king's 
sons and the captains of the host, and they 
eat and drink before him, and shout, God 
save King Adonijah. 

Then the king said to Bathsheba, As the 
Lord liveth that hath delivered me all my 
life, even as I sware, saying, Solomon, thy 
son, shall reign even so will I do this day. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



B. C. 1015. 

The Story of Solomon — David's Choice of a King — The Anointing — Building the 
Temple — The Ark Placed in the Holy of Holies — The Dedication of the Lord's 
House — Solomon Punishes Wrong-Doers — Dispute About a Child — Visit from the 
Queen of Sheba — A Magnificent Throne — Horses and Chariots — Sin of Idolatry 
— Solomon's Proverbs — The Fool and Wise Man — The Virtuous Woman. 




ATHSHEBA, who had been the 
wife of Uriah the Hittite, became 
the wife of King David, and had 
a son, whom his father called 
Solomon, which is by interpre- 
tation "peaceful;" for having 
been himself a man of war, he 
desired that the days of his child should be 
days of peace. And there came a message 
from the Lord by the hand of Nathan the 
prophet that the child should have also the 
name of Jedidiah — that is to say, " Beloved 
of Jehovah." And King David loved him 
more than his other sons. 

Now when David was old and feeble, 
Adonijah the son of Haggith, and own 
brother to Absalom, being now the eldest of 
the princes, thought to make himself king in 
his father's room. To this end he conferred 
with Joab, the captain of the host, and 
Abiathar the high priest, and they helped 
him ; but Zadok the priest, and Nathan the 
prophet, and the king's brother, and the rest 
of the mighty men that had been with David 
in the wilderness, were against him. 

And when Adonijah made a great feast at 
the Fuller's Fountain to Joab and the rest of 
his followers, Nathan came to Bathsheba, 
and said to her, Dost thou not know that 
Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and 
David our lord knoweth it not? Let me, I 1 
238 



pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayesl 
save thine own life and the life of thy son 
Solomon. Go, get thee in unto King David, 
and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, 
sware unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly 
Solomon thy son shall reign after me > 
Why then doth Adonijah reign? Behold, 
while thou yet talkest there with the king, I 
will come in and confirm thy words. 

Who Was to be King. 

And Bathsheba went in unto the king, and 
spoke according to these words. She said 
also, The eyes of all Israel are upon thee, O 
king, for they wait till thou tell them who 
shall be king after thee. Otherwise it shall 
come to pass, when my lord the king shall 
sleep with his fathers, that I and Solomon my- 
son shall be counted offenders. 

While she talked with the king, Nathan the 
prophet came to the palace ; and it was told 
the king, Behold, Nathan the prophet. 

So the king sent for him, and Bathsheba 
went out from David's presence. And when 
Nathan was come in before the king, he 
bowed himself before the king with his face 
to the ground. And he said, My lord, O 
king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign 
and shall sit upon my throne after me ? Ano 
he told him according to all that Bathsheba, 
had said. 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



239 



Then King David said, Call me Bathsheba. 
And she came into the king's presence, and 
stood before the king. 

And the king said, As the Lord liveth, 
that hath redeemed my soul out of all 
distress, even as I sware unto thee by the 
Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solo- 
mon thy son shall reign after me, and he 
shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even 
so will I certainly do this day. 

Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to 
the earth, and did reverence to the king, and 
said, Let my lord King David live for ever. 

And King David s:;i J, Call me Zadok the 
priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah 
the son of Jehoiada. Then these three came 
and stood before the king. 

The King's Mule. 

The king said unto them, Take with you 
the king's guards, and cause Solomon my 
son to ride upon my own mule, and bring 
him down to the valley of Siloam, and let 
Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet 
anoint him there to be king over Israel : and 
blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save 
King Solomon. After that ye shall come up 
after him, that he may sit upon my throne ; 
for he shall be king in my stead, for I have 
appointed him to be ruler over Israel and 
over Judah. 

Then Benaiah answered, So be it : may 
God do so. As he has been with my lord 
the king, even so may he be with Solomon, 
and make his throne greater than the throne 
of my lord David. 

So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the 
prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, 
and the guard went down to Siloam, and 
Solomon went with them, riding on the 
king's mule, on which none but the king 
might ride. And Zadok the priest took a 
horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed 



Solomon. And they blew the trumpet, and 
the people shouted, God save King Solomon. 

Now when Adonijah heard what had 
happened he arose and fled to the tabernacle,, 
and laid hold of the horns of the altar. 

They told King Solomon, saying, Adonijah 
feareth for his life: for he hath caught hold 
of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King 
Solomon swear unto me to-day that he will 
not slay his servant with the sword. 

And Solomon said, If he will show himself 
a worthy man, there shall not a hair of his 
head fall to the ground; but if wickedness- 
be found in him, he shall die. 

So they brought down Adonijah from the 
altar; and he came and bowed himself to 
King Solomon. And Solomon said to him,. 
Go to thine house. 

After these things David gathered all the 
princes of Israel, and all the captains of the 
army, and all the stewards of the king's 
possessions to Jerusalem. 

The Temple to be Built. 

And he stood upon his feet before them, 
and said, I had it in my heart to build a house 
of rest for the ark of the covenant : but God 
said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house 
for my name, because thou hast been a man 
of war, and hast shed blood. Solomon thy 
son shall build my house and my courts : for 
I have chosen him to be my son, and I will 
be his father. Moreover, I will establish his 
kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my 
commandments and my judgments, as at this 
day. Do ye, therefore, keep all the command- 
ments of the Lord your God : that ye may 
possess this good land, and leave it for an 
inheritance for your children after you for 
ever. 

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou 
the Lord God of thy father, and serve him 
with a perfect heart and with awiliing mind: 



340 



for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and under- 
standeth all the imaginations of the thoughts ; 
if thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 

courses of the priests and Levites, and all 
the work of service of the house ; and gold 
for all the things that should be of gold, and 




SOLOMON IS CROWNED KING. 



but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off 
for ever. 

Then David gave to Solomon the pattern 
of the house that he should build ; and the 



silver for all the things that should be of 
silver ; and he said to him, Be strong and of 
good courage, and do it ; and fear not, nor 
be dismayed; for the Lord God, even my 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



241 



God, will be with thee; he will not leave 
thee, nor forsake thee, till thou hast finished 
all the work for his house. 

And yet again after this David gathered 
all the congregation of Israel, and said to 
them, Solomon my son, whom alone God 
hath chosen, is young and tender, and the 
work is gr^ a t : for the palace is not for man, 
but for the Lord God. 

And he told them what treasure he had 
prepared for the building of the house, and 
said, Who then is willing this day to conse- 
crate his service unto the Lord ? 

They Praise the Lord. 

Then the chief of the fathers, and the 
princes of the tribes, and all the people, 
offered willingly of their substance. 

Wherefore David blessed the Lord before 
the congregation, and said, Blessed be thou, 
Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and 
ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and 
the power, and the glory, and the victory, 
and the majesty : for all that is in the heaven 
and in the earth is thine ; thine is the king- 
dom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head 
above all. Both riches and honor come of 
thee, and thou reignest over all ; and in 
thine hand is power and might ; and in 
thine hand it is to make great, and to give 
strength unto all. 

Th^n David said to all the congregation, 
Now bless the Lord your God. So all the 
congregation blessed the Lord God of their 
fathers, and bowed down their heads and 
worshipped. 

On the morrow they offered sacrifices and 
burnt-offerings unto the Lord— a thousand 
bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand 
lambs ; and they did eat and drink before the 
Lord on that day with great gladness. So 
they made Solomon the son of David king a 
second time. 
16 



After these things the time came for David 
to die ; and Solomon sat upon his throne, 
and his kingdom was established greatly. 

But Adonijah the son of Haggith was not 
content that he should be passed over. 
Therefore he went to Bathsheba, the queen- 
mother. And Bathsheba said, Comest thou 
peaceably ? 

He answered, Peaceably ; and now I have 
somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, 
Say on, 

Adonijah Seeks a Wife. 

Then he said, Thou knowest that the 
kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set 
their faces on me, that I should reign : never- 
theless the kingdom is become my brother's : 
for it was his from the Lord. And now I 
ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And 
Bathsheba said, Say on. 

And he said, Speak I pray thee, unto the 
king, that he give me Abishag the Shunam- 
mite to wife. 

Now Abishag the Shunammite had been 
one of the wives of King David ; and it was 
the custom that when the king was dead his 
wives should not be given to another, except 
only to him that should reign in his 
stead. Adonijah, therefore, did this thing in 
subtlety, to the intent that he might seem to 
Israel to be king after his father. 

Bathsheba said, Well ; I will speak for 
thee unto the king. So she went to King 
Solomon, to speak for Adonijah. And the 
king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself 
unto her, and sat down on his throne, and 
said to his servants, set a seat for the king's 
mother. And she sat on his right hand. 

Then she said, I desire one small petition of 
thee ; say me not nay. And the king said, Ask 
on, my mother : for I will not say thee nay. 
Then she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite 
be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. 



242 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON 



King Solomon answered, And why dost 
thou only ask Abishag the Shauammite for 
my brother Adonijah ? Ask for him the 
kingdom also ; for he is my elder brother, 
yea, ask it for him, and for Abiathar the priest, 
and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. 

And he sware by the Lord, saying, God 
do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah 
have not spoken this word against his own 
life. And he sent Benaiah, the captain of 
the host, to slay him. 

Then the king said to Abiathar the high 
priest, Get thee to Anathoth, to thine own 
fields ; for thou art worthy of death : yet I 
will not put thee to death, because thou 
barest the ark before David my father, and 
because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my 
father was afflicted. 

The Fate of Joab. 

So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from 
being high priest. Thus was fulfilled the 
word of the Lord which said to Eli, that 
his house should be cast out from the priest- 
hood. 

When Joab heard that Adonijah had been 
slain, and that Abiathar was banished, he 
fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and 
caught hold of the horns of the altar. It 
was told King Solomon that Joab had fled 
to the tabernacle of the Lord, and that he 
was by the altar. Then Solomon said to 
Benaiah, Go fall upon him. 

Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the 
Lord, and said to Joab, Come forth. And 
he said, Nay ; but I will die here. Benaiah 
brought word to the king what Joab had 
answered him. 

The king said, Do as he hath said, and 
fall upon him there, and bury him ; that thou 
mayest take away the innocent blood, which 
Joab shed, from me, and from my father's 
house. For he slew two men more righteous 



and better than he David my father not 
knowing, namely, Abne~, captain of the host 
of Israel, and Amasa, captain of the host o! 
Judah. 

Then the king sent for Sh : mei, who had 
cursed David when he fled before the face of 
Absalom — for he was of the house of Saul 
— and said to him, Build thee a house in 
Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth 
thence any whither ; for know that on the 
day thou goest out, and passest over the 
brook Kidron, thou shalt surely die: thy 
blood shall be upon thine own head. 

And Shimei said unto the king, The say- 
ing is good : as my lord the king hath said,, 
so will thy servant do. 

And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many 
days. But at the end of three years two of 
his servants ran away to Achish son of 
Maacah, king of Gath; and when Shimei 
heard that his servants were in Gath, he went 
to Achish at Gath to seek his servants ; and he 
brought them back from Gath. 

Evil-Doers Punished. 

Then the king sent for Shimei, and said 
unto him, Did not I make thee swear, pro- 
testing unto thee, that on the day when thou 
wentest forth any whither out of Jerusalem, 
thou shouldest surely die ? And thou saids.t 
unto me, The word is good. Why then hast 
not thou kept the oath that thou swarest 
before the Lord, and the commandment that 
I charged thee with? Thou knowest all the 
wickedness which thy heart is privy to, that 
thou didst to David my father : now shall the 
Lord requite it upon thine head. 

Then the king commanded Benaiah that 
he should slay Shimei. 

Thus did King Solomon punish the evil- 
doers, even as his father had commanded 
him. But to Chimham the son of Barzillai, 
who had nourished King David and his men 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



243 



when they fled over Jordan from Absalom, 
he showed great kindness. For Chimham 
dwelt at Bethlehem, and did eat at the king's 
table all the days of his life. 

When King Solomon was now firmly 
established on the throne of David his father, 
he went to Gibeon, to the high place, to 
sacrifice there, for the people still sacrificed 
in the high places. A thousand burnt-offer- 
ings did Solomon offer before the altar in 
Gibeon. 

Solomon Chooses Wisdom. 

And the Lord appeared unto Solomon in 
a dream by night : and God said, Ask what 
I shall give thee. 

Then Solomon said, Thou hast showed 
unto thy servant David great bounty, accord- 
ing as he walked before thee in truth, and in 
righteousness, and in uprightness of heart ; 
and thou hast continued to him this great 
kindness, that thou hast given him a son to 
sit upon his throne, as it is this day. And 
now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy 
servant king in the room of David my father ; 
and I am but a little child : I know not how 
to go out or come in. 

And thy servant is in the midst of the 
people which thou hast chosen, a great 
people, that cannot be counted for multitude. 
Give therefore thy servant an understanding 
heart, that I may discern between good and 
bad: for who is able to judge this thy people 
that is so great ? 

And it pleased the Lord that Solomon had 
asked this thing. 

And God said unto him, Because thou hast 
asked this thing, and hast not asked for 
thyself long life, or riches, or the life of thine 
enemies ; but hast asked for thyself under- 
standing that thou mayest judge thy people 
wisely : Behold, I have done according to thy 
words: I have given thee a wise and an 



understanding heart ; there hath been none 
like thee before thee, neither after thee shall 
arise any like unto thee. And I have also 
given thee that which thou hast not asked, 
both riches and honor : so that there shall 
not be any among the kings like unto thee 
all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my 
ways, to keep my statutes and my judgments, 
as thy father David did walk, then will I 
lengthen thy days. 

And Solomon awoke ; and, behold, it was 
a dream. 

The Two Women. 

Solomon came to Jerusalem, and stood 
before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
and offered up burnt-offerings, and made a 
feast to all his servants. And on a certain 
day, as he sat, after his custom, to judge the 
people, it happened that there came two 
women before him. 

One of the women said, O my lord, I and 
this woman dwell in the same house. This 
woman's child died; for she overlaid it 
And she arose at midnight, and took my son 
from beside me, while I slept, and laid it in 
her bosom, and laid her dead child in my 
bosom ; for there were but three days differ- 
ence of age between them. In the morning, 
it was dead ; but when I looked at it more 
nearly in the light, I saw that the dead child 
was not my own son. 

The other woman said, Nay ; but the 
living is my son, and the dead is thine. Then 
the first answered again, No ; but the dead 
is thy son, and the living is mine. Thus 
they spoke before the king. 

Then said the king, The one saith, This is 
my son that liveth, and the dead is thine; 
and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the 
dead, and mine is the living. Bring me a 
sword. 

So they brought the king a sword. And 



244 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



the king said, Divide the living child in two, 
and give half to the one, and half to the other. 
Then spoke the woman whose the living 
child was unto the king, for her heart yearned 
for her son, O my lord, give her the living 
child, and in no wise slay it. But the other 
said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but 
divide it. 



standing, and largeness of heart, so that he 
knew things as much beyond all counting as 
is the sand on the seashore. His wisdom 
excelled all the wisdom of the Chaldasns, and 
all the wisdom of Egypt. He spoke three 
thousand proverbs ; and his songs were a 
thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, 
from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, to the 




THE JUDGMENT 

Then the king answered and said, Give 
her the living child, and in no wise slay it : 
for she is the mother thereof. And all Israel 
heard of the judgment which the king had 
judged ; and they knew that the wisdom 
from God was in him to do judgment. 

In other things also did God give to 
Solomon wisdom, and very much under- 



OF SOLOMON. 

hyssop that springeth out of the wall : he 
spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of 
creeping things, and of fishes. And there 
came men from all the kingdoms of the 
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; for 
the fame of it had gone abroad. 

Solomon was king over all Israel. He 
reisrned also over all the kingdoms from the 




4±& 



246 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



ford of Euphrates to Gath. All the kings of 
the cities served him, and brought him 
tribute. And he himself marched against 
Hamath and took it. Also he made affinity 
with Pharaoh king of Egypt, for he took 
Pharaoh's daughter to wife. And Pharaoh 
gave him Geshur with his daughter, having 
taken it and slain the Canaanites that were 
therein. 

Peace and Plenty. 

He had peace on all sides round about 
him ; and Judah and Israel dwelt securely, 
every man under his vine and under his fig- 
tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the 
days of Solomon. Very many were they, 
even as the sand which is by the sea for mul- 
titude, eating and drinking and making merry. 

The day's provision for the king's court 
was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty 
measures of meal, ten fat oxen fed in stalls, 
and twenty oxen fed in the meadows, and an 
hundred sheep, besides wild goats and 
gazelles and wild oxen, and other choice 
things, And the king had twelve officers 
who made provision for these things, each 
man for one month in the year. 

Also Solomon had forty thousand stalls 
for the horses of his chariots, and twelve 
thousand horsemen. And the officers that 
provided for the king's table provided also 
his horses barley and straw, bringing them to 
tiie places where the horses were, for the 
king kept them in divers parts of his domin- 
ions. 

When Hiram king of Tyre heard that 
Solomon was anointed king in the room of 
his father David, he sent his servants to 
greet him ; for Hiram had ever been a lover 
of David. 

And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou 
knowest how David my father could not 
build a house for the Lord his God by reason 



of the wars that were round about him. But 
now the Lord hath given me rest ; neither 
have I any adversary or trouble. Therefore 
I propose to build a house unto the name of 
the Lord, even as the Lord spoke unto David, 
saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy 
throne in thy room, he shall build a house 
unto my name. Now therefore command 
that they hew me cedar-trees out of Leba- 
non ; and my servants shall be with thy ser- 
vants. I will give hire unto thy servants as 
thou shalt appoint ; for there are none among 
us that are skillful to hew timber like unto 
the Sidonians. 

When Hiram heard these words he re- 
joiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord 
who hath given unto David a wise son t< 
rule over this great people. 

Also he sent to Solomon, saying, I will do 
all thy desire concerning timber of cedar and 
fir. My servants shall bring it down from 
Lebanon to the sea ; and I v/ill convey it by 
sea in floats to the place that thou shalt 
appoint. And do thou give me food for my 
household. 

Building the Temple. 

So Hiram gave to Solomon cedar-trees 
and fir-trees according as he desired. And 
Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand meas- 
ures of wheat and twenty measures of pure oil. 

And Solomon raised a levy of thirty thou- 
sand men out of all Israel to work in Leba- 
non. Three courses he made of them, each 
of ten thousand men. And each course was 
for one month in Lebanon, and for two 
months at home. Also he had seventy 
thousand that bare burdens, and eighty 
thousand that were hewers in the mountains 
These were of the Canaanites that dwelt in 
the land. 

And the king commanded, and they 
brought great hewed stones, very costly, 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



which his builders and the builders of Hiram 
had hewed to lay the foundation of the house. 
Much stone also and timber did the hewers 
prepare for the building of the house. 



247 

of stone made ready before it was brought 
thither ; so that there was neither hammer 
nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the 
house while it was in building-. 




THE ARK BROUGHT INTO THE TEMPLE BY SOLOMON. 



In the fourth year of his reign did Solo- 
mon begin to build the house of the Lord ; 
and in the eleventh year of his reign he fin- 
ished it. So was he seven years and six 
months in building it. The house was built 



The length of the house was sixty cubits, 
and the breadth twenty, and the height thirty; 
and before it was a porch, that was built 
along the whole breadth of the house, and 
was ten cubits deep. And on each side of 



248 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



the house, against the wall, were chambers, 
in three stories ; each story was five cubits 
high ; and the breadth of the lowest was 
five cubits, of the next six, and of the third 
seven. Above the topmost story were 
windows in the walls of the house, to light 



fathers that they might bring up the ark of 
the covenant out of the city of David. 

So the priests took up the ark of the Lord, 
and the tabernacle that Moses had made in 
the wilderness, and all the holy vessels that 
were in the tabernacle, and brought them into 




SOLOMON DEDICATING THE TEMPLE. 



the Holy Place ; but in the oracle, that is, 
the Holy of Holies, were no windows. 

In the twelfth year of his reign, at the 
time of the Feast of Tabernacles, King Solo- 
mon dedicated the house which he had built. 
He assembled all the elders of Israel, and 
the heads of the tribes, and the chief of the 



the house. And the priests brought the ark 
into the Holy of Holies, and put it under the 
wings of the cherubim. And they drew out 
the staves by which the ark was carried, so 
that the ends thereof could be seen in the 
Holy Place. 

There was nothing in the ark save the two 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



24^ 



tables of stone which Moses put there in 
Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant 
with the children of Israel, when they came 
out of the land of Egypt. 

And when the priests were come out of 
the Holy Place, the cloud of the presence of 
the Lord filled the house of the Lord, so that 
the priests could not stand to minister because 
of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord had 
filled the house of the Lord. 

Then spoke Solomon, with his face towards 
the oracle, O Lord, I have built thee a house 
to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide 
in forever. 

And he turned his face to the outer court, 
and blessed all the congregation of Israel ; 
and all the congregation stood. 

Prayer at the Dedication. 

After this he stood before the brazen altar 
in the court of the priests on a platform of 
brass, that he might be seen of the people ; 
and he knelt upon his knees, and spread 
forth his hands and prayed to the Lord God 
of Israel, saying : 

Lord God of Israel, there is no God like 
thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, 
who keepest covenant and mercy with thy 
servants that walk before thee with all their 
heart; who hast kept with thy servant David 
my father that thou didst promise him ; thou 
spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled 
it with thine hand, as it is this day, Now, 
therefore, keep thy promise that thou 
promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail 
thee a man to sit on the throne of Israel ; 
so that thy children take heed to their way, 
that they walk before me, as thou hast 
walked before me. 

Will God indeed dwell on the earth? 
Behold the heavens cannot contain thee ; how 
much less this house that I have builded. 
Yet have thou respect unto my prayer, that 



thine eyes may be open towards this house 
day and night, even towards the place ot 
which thou hast said, my name shall be there. 
Hearken thou to the supplication of thy ser- 
vant, and of thy people Israel, when they 
shall pray toward this place ; and hear thou 
in heaven thy dwelling-place ; and when thou 
nearest, forgive. 

He Blesses the Congregation. 

When Solomon had made an end of pray- 
ing this prayer, he rose up from his knees, 
and blessed all the congregation. A great 
feast did Solomon, and all Israel with him, 
hold unto the Lord, from Hamath in the 
north to the river of Egypt. For seven days 
they kept it, and for seven days also they 
kept the Feast of Tabernacles. 

And on the eighth day Solomon sent the 
oeople away ; and they blessed the king, and 
went unto their tents joyful and glad of 
heart for all the goodness that the Lord had 
done for David his servant, and for Israel his 
people. 

Solomon, when he had finished building 
the house of the Lord, built a house for 
himself. He built it on the hill of the temple ; 
and it had three parts. 

The first part was the House of the Forest 
of Lebanon, which had pillars like to a forest 
of cedar-trees. Three rows of pillars it had, 
and fifteen pillars in each. There was also a 
porch with pillars ; and the Porch of Judg- 
ment for the throne, whereon he sat, judging 
the people. The second part was the Palace 
of Pharaoh's daughter, wherein were the 
apartments of the women. The third part 
was the king's own house, where he dwelt. 

Thirteen years was King Solomon in build- 
ing his house after he had finished building 
the temple. And when he had finished them 
both, he gave to Hiram king of Tyre twenty 
cities in the land of Galilee ; for Hiram hcd 



250 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



furnished Solomon with cedar-trees, and fir- 
trees, and gold, according to all his desire. 
And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the 
cities which Solomon had given him ; and 
they pleased him not. And he said, What 
cities are these which thou hast given me, 
my brother ? And he called them the land 
of Cabul. The meaning of Cabul is dirty. 



men, and pleasure places in Jerusalem and 
in Lebanon. 

Also he had a navy of ships in Ezion 
gaber, whither he himself went to oversee 
them. Hiram sent with the servants of 
Solomon his own servants, shipmen that had 
knowledge of the sea ; and they fetched gold 
from Ophir and brought it to King Solomon . 




THE ARK AND FURNITURE OF THE TEMPLE. 



Solomon also built the fortress of Millo, 
and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and 
Megiddo, and Geshur (after Pharaoh king of 
Egypt had taken it and burnt it with fire), 
and Lower Beth-horon, and Baalath, and 
Tadmor in the wilderness, which is also called 
Palmyra. Cities of store, also, he built, and 
cities for his chariots, and cities for his horse- 



And another navy of ships sailed to Tar- 
shish. 

And when the Queen of Sheba heard of 
the fame of Solomon, and how the Lord had 
given him great wisdom, she came to prove 
him with hard questions. With a very great 
train did she come to Jerusalem, with camels 
that bore spices, and very much gold, and 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



251 



precious stones. And when she came to 
Solomon, she communed with him of all 
that was in her heart. And Solomon told 
her all her questions : there was not any- 
thing hid from the queen that he told her not. 



state to the house of the Lord, there was nc 
more spirit in her. 

And she said to the king, It was a true 
report that I heard in my own land of thy 
acts and thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed 




THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON. 



And when the Queen of Sheba had seen 
all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house 
chat he had built, and the meat of his table, 
and the sitting of his servants, and the 
attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, 
and his cupbearers, and how he went in his 



not the words till I came, and mine eyes had 
seen it ; and, behold, the half was not told 
me ; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth 
the fame which I heard. Happy are thy 
men, happy are these thy servants, which 
stand continually before thee, and hear thy 



252 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, 
which delighted in thee, to set thee on the 
throne of Israel : because the Lord loved 
Israel forever, therefore did he set thee on 
the throne, to do judgment and justice. 

And she gave the king one hundred and 
twenty talents of gold, and of spices very 
great store, and precious stones: there came 
no more such abundance of spices as these 
which the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon. 

King Solomon gave unto the queen 
whatsoever she asked, besides what he gave 
her of his royal bounty. And she departed 
to her own country. 

The weight of gold that came to King 
Solomon in one year was six hundred and 
sixty-six talents of gold, probably not less 
than sixteen million dollars. Other gold he 
had from the merchantmen, and from spice 
merchants, and from the kings of Arabia, and 
from the governors of the country. 

King Solomon made of the gold which 
came to him two hundred targets of beaten 
gold, each target having six hundred shekels 
of gold ; and three hundred shields, each 
with three hundred shekels of gold ; and the 
king put them in the house of the forest of 
Lebanon. 

A Throne of Ivory and Gold. 

Moreover, the king made a great throne, 
overlaid with ivory and gold. The throne 
had six steps ; and on each step on either 
side was a lion — twelve lions in all. The top 
of the throne was round behind ; and there 
were arms on either side of the seat, and 
beside each arm a lion. There was not the 
like made in any kingdom. 

All Solomon's drinking vessels were of 
gold ; none were of silver : for silver was 
nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. 
He made it as common in Jerusalem as 
stones, and cedar to abound as the sycamore 



in the plain of the sea. The king's ships 
also brought him ivory, and apes, and 
almug trees. 

All the countries round about sought to 
Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God put 
in his heart ; and they brought every man his 
present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, 
and garments, and armor, and spices, and 
horses, and mules. 

But Solomon took to himself many wives 
besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of 
the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidon- 
ians, and Hittites; nations of which the Lord 
had said to the children of Israel, Ye shall 
not take to you wives from them, for surely 
they [ ill turn away your heart after their 
gods. And when Solomon was old his 
wives turned away his heart after other gods, 
so that he went after Ashtoreth the goddess 
of the Zidonians, and Molech the abomina- 
tion of the Ammonites. 

Solomon's Idolatry. 

He built an high place for Chemosh on the 
Mount of Olives, and for Molech the abomi- 
nation of the children of Ammon. And so 
did he for all his strange wives, building high 
places where they might burn incense and 
sacrifice unto their gods. 

And the Lord was angry with Solomon 
because his heart was turned from the Lord 
God of Israel, who had appeared unto 
him twice, and had commanded him con- 
cerning this very thing that he should not go 
after other gods. Therefore the Lord said 
to him, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, 
and thou hast not kept my covenant and my 
statutes, which I have commanded thee, I 
will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and 
will give it to thy servant. Nothwithstand- 
ing I will not do it in thy days, for David 
thy father's sake ; but I will do it in thy 
son's days. Nor will I rend away all the 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



253 



kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, 
for David my servant's sake, and for the sake 
of Jerusalem which I have chosen. And the 
Lord raised up adversaries against Solomon, 
Hadad the Edomite, and Rezon of Zobah. 

This Hadad was of the royal house in 
Sdom ; and when the Edomites had been 
defeated at the Valley of Salt, and Joab had 



And when Hadad grew to be a man he 
found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so 
that he gave him to wife the sister of his own 
wife, Tahpenes the queen. And when Hadad 
heard that David slept with his fathers, and 
that Joab was dead, he said to Pharaoh, Let 
me depart that I may go to my own country. 
Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast 




KINGS BRINGING GIFTS TO SOLOMON. 



been sent to slay all the males in Edom (for 
six months did Joab stay in the land with the 
host), certain of the royal servants fled with 
this Hadad, being yet a child. From the 
town of Midian they fled, and came to Paran, 
which is desert, and lieth to the south of 
Judah ; and from Paran they went down into 
Egypt. 



thou lacked with me, that thou seekest to 
go to thine own country ? And Hadad 
answered, Nothing ; yet let me go. So 
Hadad returned to Edom, and was an adver- 
sary to Solomon. 

As for Rezon, he was a Syrian of Zobah, 
and when David had smitten Hadad-ezer ■ 
king of the Syrians, Rezon gathered to him-j 



254 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



self a band of men, and made himself king 
in Damascus. 

These two were adversaries to Solomon ; 
and the third was Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 

Solomon reigned over Israel forty years; 
and he slept with his fathers, and was buried 
in the city of David his father ; and Reho- 
boam his son reigned in his stead. 



tained in the Book of Proverbs which form? 
a part of the Old Testament. They are al'J 
short sentences, each of which tells us son e 
important truth. They show the wisdom of 
the king, and are excellent rules to live by. 

In one of the chapters the fool and the 
wise man are described, and the following it 
what Solomon says concerning them : 




SOLOMONS PICTURE OF THE FOOL AND THE WISE MAN. 



Much is said about Solomon in the 72d 
Psalm. This was written by David. It gives 
a beautiful picture of Solomon judging the 
people with righteousness, and also describes 
the kings of the earth bringing presents to 
hxm. 

We are told that Solomon sought out and 
set in order many proverbs. These are con- 



A soft answer turneth away wrath : but 
grievous words stir up. anger. 

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge 
aright : but the mouth of fools poureth out 
foolishness. 

The eyes of the Lord are in every place ? 
beholding the evil and the good. 

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life i 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



255 



out perverseness therein is a breach in the seeketh knowledge : but the mouth of fools 



spirit. 

A fool despiseth his father's instruction : 
but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. 

In the house of the righteous is much 
treasure : but in the revenues of the wicked 
is trouble. 



feedeth on foolishness. 

All the days of the afflicted are evil : but he 
that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. 

Better is little with the fear of the Lord 
than great treasure and trouble therewith. 

Better is a dinner of herbs where love 




The lips of the wise disperse knowledge : 
but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. 

A scorner loveth not one that reproveth 
him : neither will he go unto the wise. 

A merry heart maketh a cheerful coun- 
tenance : but by sorrow of the heart the 
spirit is broken. 



THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN. 

is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith 
A wrathful man stirreth up strife : but he 

that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. 

The way of the slothful man is as ar. 

hedge of thorns : but the way of the right 

eous is made plain. 

A wise son maketh a glad father : but a. 



The heart of him that hath understanding ' foolish man despiseth his mother. 



256 



THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 



Folly is joy to him that is destitute of 
wisdom : but a man of understanding walk- 
eth uprightly. 

Without counsel purposes are disappointed: 
but in the multitude of counsellers they are 
established. 

A man hath joy by the answer of his 
mouth : and a word spoken in due season, 
how good is it ! 

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomina- 
tion to the Lord : but the words of the pure 
are pleasant words. 

He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own 
house ; but he that hateth gifts shall live. 

The heart of the righteous studieth to 
answer : but the mouth of the wicked poureth 
out evil things. 

He that refuseth instruction despiseth his 
own soul : but he that heareth reproof get- 
teth understanding. 

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of 
wisdom ; and before honor is humility. 

The Good Woman. 

Solomon also gives us a beautiful picture 
of the virtuous woman. She makes home 
happy, and her children call her blessed. 
Her works are works of gentleness and love, 
and these praise her. She is thus described 
by the wisest man that ever lived : 

Who can find a virtuous woman? For 
her price is far above rubies. 

The heart of her husband doth safely trust 
in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 

She will do him good and not evil all the 
days of her life. 

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh 
willingly with her hands. 



She riseth also while it is yet night, and 
giveth meat to her household, and a portion 
to her maidens. 

She considereth a field, and huyeth it: 
with the fruit of her hands she planteth a 
vineyard. 

She girdeth her loins with strength, and 
strengtheneth her arms. 

She perceiveth that her merchandise is 
good : her candle goeth not out by night. 

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and 
her hands hold the distaff. 

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor ; 
yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 

She is not afraid of the snow for her 
household : for all her household are clothed 
with scarlet. 

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry: 
her clothing is silk and purple. 

Her husband is known in the gates, wheil 
he sitteth among the elders of the land. 

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and 
delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 

Strength and honor are her clothing; and 
she shall rejoice in time to come. 

She openeth her mouth with wisdom ; and 
in her tongue is the law of kindness. 

She looketh well to the ways of her house- 
hold, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 

Her children arise up, and call her blessed ; 
her husband also, and he praiseth her. 

Many daughters have done virtuously, but 
thou excellest them all. 

Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain : but 
a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be 
praised. 

Give of her the fruit of her hands ; and let 
her own works praise her in the gates. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



B. C. 910. 

The Story of Elijah — Fed by Ravens — The Widow's Cruse of Oil and Barrel of 
Meal — Story of the Dead Child — The Prophet on Carmel — Rain in Answer to 
Prayer — Under the Juniper Tree — Elijah on Mount Horeb — Naboth and His 
Vineyard — The Arrow that Smote Ahab — Ahaziah Comes to the Throne — Jehu 
Anointed King — Death of Jezebel — Elijah Taken up into Heaven. 




ING AHAB the son of Omri did 
evil in the sight of the Lord 
above all that were before him. 
For, as if it had been a light 
thing for him to walk in the sins 
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 
and to worship the golden calves 
that were in Bethel and in Dan, he took to 
wife Jezebel the daughter of Eth-baal, king 
of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, 
and worshipped him. Baal was a god and 
Ashtaroth was a goddess of the Sidonians, 
who were the inhabitants of Sidon, a city of 
Phoenicia, which was outside the borders of 
Israel. 

Ahab reared up an altar for Baal in the 
house of Baal, which he had made in 
Samaria. Also he made a grove; and he 
did more to provoke the Lord to anger than 
all the kings of Israel that were before him; 
for he did after all the abominations of the 
Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the 
children of Israel. In all these things, and 
in persecuting the prophets of the Lord, 
Jezebel his wife stirred him up. 

Ahab's marriage with Jezebel was the 
beginning of great evils. For whereas Jero- 
boam and the kings that came after him had 
caused Israel to sin against the Lord by 
worshipping the calves that had been set up 
in Bethel and Dan, Ahab constrained his 1 
17 



people to transgress far more grievously, 
even by following Baal and Ashtaroth. 

He worshipped these false gods with much 
pomp and splendor; thus we hear of four 
hundred and fifty priests of Baal that were 
fed at Jezebel's table, and of four hundred 
priests of the grove; but he persecuted them 
that were still faithful to Jehovah. For the 
armed messengers of the queen went through 
the land, throwing down the altars of the 
Lord, and slaying all such as would not bow 
the knee to Baal. 

Against the prophets of Jehovah did Ahab 
and Jezebel, his wife, rage especially. Many 
were killed with the sword, and they that 
escaped were content to hide themselves in 
caverns and dens of the earth. 

He Hid Them in Caves. 

Yet there were some that were found 
faithful even in the king's court ; of such was 
Obadiah, the king's steward, who took a 
hundred of the Lord's prophets and hid them 
in two caves, fifty in each, and fed them there. 

Then the Lord sent Elijah of Tishbi, in the 
land of Gilead, to King Ahab. He was a 
dweller in the wilderness, and was clad in a 
garment of skin, and wore a leathern girdle 
about his loins. Elijah stood before Ahab 
as he sat on his throne, and said. As the 
Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I 

257 



258 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these 
years, but according to my word. And 
when he had said this he turned away and 
was seen no more. 

But when there had been drought for a 
long time, and the famine began to be sore in 
the land, Ahab bethought him of the man 
that had denounced this judgment against 
him and his people. And he sent through- 
out all the land of Israel, and to all the 



So he went, and did according to the word 
of the Lord; for he dwelt by the watercourse 
of Cherith that floweth into Jordan. And the 
ravens brought him bread and flesh in the 
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening ; 
and he drank from the watercourse. And 
after a while the watercourse dried up,. 
because there had been no rain in the land. 1 

And the word of the Lord came to himj 
saying, Arise get thee to Zarephath, which 




ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS. 



nations round about, seeking for him. To 
whomsoever he sent he made him swear that 
Elijah was not with him ; but still he could 
not find him. 

Elijah was concealed, for the word of the 
Lord came to him, saying, Get thee hence, 
and turn thee eastward, and hide thee by the 
watercourse of Cherith, that floweth into 
Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt 
drink of the brook ; and I have commanded 
the ravens to feed thee there. 



belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there : I have 
commanded a widow woman there to sustain 
thee. 

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And 
when he came to the gate of the city, a widow 
woman was there gathering of sticks ; and 
he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray 
thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may 
drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he 
called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee p 
a morsel of bread in thine hand. 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



259 



And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, 
I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in 
a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse : and I am 
gathering sticks, that I may go in and dress 
it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. 

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not ; go 
and do as thou hast said : but make me 
thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto 
me, and after make for thee and thy son. 
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The 
barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall 
the cruse of oil fail, until the day when the 
Lord shall send rain upon the earth. 

The Child Restored. 

And she went and did according to the 
word of Elijah ; and she, and he, and her 
house, did eat many days. And the barrel 
of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of 
oil fail, according to the word of the Lord 
which he spoke by Elijah. 

After these things the son of the woman 
of the house fell sick, and his sickness was 
so sore that there was no breath left in him. 
And the woman said to Elijah, What have I 
to do with thee, thou man of God ? Didst 
thou come hither to call my sins to remem- 
brance. And Elijah said, Give me thy son. 

Andhetook him out ofher bosom, and car- 
ried him up into the upper chamber where he 
abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And 
he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my 
God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come 
into him again. And the Lord heard the 
voice of Elijah ; and the soul of the child 
came into him again, and he revived. 

And Elijah took the child, and brought 
him down out of the upper chamber into the 
house, and delivered him to his mother ; and 
Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. The woman 
said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou 
art a man of God, and that the word of the 
Lord in thy mouth is truth. 



At the end of the third year the Lord said 
to Elijah, Go, show thyself to Ahab, and I 
will send rain upon the earth. Now about 
this time King Ahab said to Obadiah, his 
steward, Go throughout the land to all 
fountains of water and brooks. Peradventure 
we may find grass to save such of the horses 
and mules as are left. So they divided the 
land between them — Ahab went one way 
and Obadiah went another. 

And as Obadiah was on his way, Elijah 
met him ; and Obadiah knew him for the 
prophet that had stood before Ahab, and he 
fell on his face before him, and said, Art thou 
that my lord Elijah ? And he answered, I 
am ; go, tell thy lord, Elijah is here. 

He Meets the King. 

Then Obadiah said, How have I sinned, 
that thou wouldst give Ahab occasion to slay 
me ? There is no nation or kingdom whither 
he hath not sent to seek thee ; and now thou 
biddest me say, Elijah is here. But so soon 
as I shall have gone from thee, the Spirit of 
the Lord shall carry thee whither I know 
not ; and when I shall have told Ahab, and 
he cannot find thee, then he will slay me. 
Truly I have served the Lord from my youth. 
Doth not my lord know how I saved an 
hundred men when Jezebel slew the prophets 
of the Lord. Elijah answered, As the Lord 
liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely 
show myself to Ahab to-day. 

So Obadiah told Ahab, and Ahab went to 
meet Elijah. And when Ahab saw him he 
said, Art thou he that troubleth Israel ? But 
Elijah answered, I have not troubled Israel, 
but thou and thy father's house. Now 
gather to Mount Carmel all the prophets of 
Baal, and the prophets of the groves ; I will 
be there also. Let all the people also be 
gathered to the same place, that they may 
judge between us. 



260 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



And Ahab did so ; and all the people 
stood round on a level place on the top of 
Mount Carmel. And Elijah and the prophets 
of Baal stood in the midst — he by himself 
and they by themselves. Then Elijah said 
to the king and to the people, Let the 
prophets of Baal furnish now two bullocks 
* — for they are four hundred and fifty men, 



bullock and put it on the altar which they 
had built. And they called on Baal from 
morning until noon, crying, O Baal, hear us ! 
But there was no voice,nor any that answered; 
and they leaped upon the altar. And when 
it was noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry 
aloud; for either he meditateth or is busy 
with other things, and doth not hear you ; or 




ELIJAH RAISING THE WIDOW S SON. 



and I but one — and let them cut their bul- 
lock in pieces, and put his flesh on their altar, 
but put no fire under; and I will do the same 
with my bullock. They shall call on the 
name of their god, and I will call on the name 
of mine; and the God that answereth by fire, 
let him be God. And all the people said, It 
is well spoken. 

Then the prophets of Baal took their 



he is on a journey ; or, perchance, he is 
asleep, and must be awakened. 

So they cried aloud, and cut themselves 
after their manner with knives and lancets 
till the blood gushed out upon them. Thus 
they did till it was time of offering the even- 
ing sacrifice, three o'clock in the afternoon ; 
but there was no voice, nor any that answered 
or regarded. 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



261 



Then Elijah built again the altar of 
Jehovah that was in the place, and had been 
broken down. With twelve stones he built 
it, according to the number of the twelve 
tribes of Israel. Round about it he made a 
trench as great as would contain two 
measures of seed, or six gallons ; and he put 
the wood in order on the altar, and laid the 
pieces of the bullock on the altar, and com- 
manded that water should be poured upon it 
three times, till the whole was drenched 
through and through, and even the trench 
filled with water. 

Fire from Heaven. 

And at the time of the evening sacrifice 
he prayed, and said, Jehovah, God of Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, hear me. Jehovah, 
hear me this day in fire, and let all the people 
know that thou art Jehovah, the God of 
this Israel, and that I am thy servant, and 
through thee have done all these things. 
Hear me, O Jehovah ; hear me, and let this 
people know that thou, Jehovah, art the God, 
and that thou hast turned their hearts back 
again. 

And when he had done speaking, the fire 
of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt 
sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and 
the dust, and licked up the water that was in 
the trench. And when the people saw it 
they fell on their faces, and said, Jehovah is 
the God ; Jehovah is the God. 

Then Elijah said to the people, Take the 
prophets of Baal ; let not one of them 
escape. So they took them, and Elijah slew 
them by the brook Kishon. 

Then Elijah said unto Ahab, for Ahab had 
come down with him to the brook, Get thee 
up to the hill again ; eat and drink ; for there 
is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab 
went up to eat and drink. 

And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; 



and he cast himself upon the ground, and 
put his face between his knees. 

And he said to his servant, Go up now, 
look toward the sea. And the servant went 
up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. 
And Elijah said, Go again seven times. 

At the seventh time the man said, Behold, 
there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like 
unto a man's hand. Then the prophet said, 
Go up, tell Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get 
thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And 
in the meanwhile the heaven was black with 
clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. 

And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah ; 
and he girded up his loins, and ran before 
A. hab to the gate of Jezreel. 

He Flees for His Life. 

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, 
and how he had slain all the prophets with 
the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger 
unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to 
me, and more also, if I make not thy life as 
the life of one of them by to-morrow about 
this time. 

And when he heard that he was greatly 
afraid, and rose and fled for his life, till he 
came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah. 
And he left his servant at Beer-sheba, but he 
himself went a day's journey into the wilder- 
ness, and came and sat down under a tree of 
broom : and he requested for himself that he 
might die ; and said, It is enough ; now, O 
Lord, take away my own life, for I am not 
better than my fathers. 

And as he lay and slept under the broom, 
an angel touched him, and said, Arise, eat. 
And he looked, and there was a cake baked 
among the embers, and a cruse of water at 
his head. And he did eat and drink, and 
laid him again to sleep. 

The angel of the Lord came again a 
second time, and said, Arise, eat again ; foi 



262 

otherwise the journey will be too great for 
thee. So he arose, and did eat and drink, 
and went in the strength of that food forty- 
days and forty nights, till he came to Horeb, 
the mount of God. And he came into the 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 

down thine altars, and slain thy prophets 
with the sword ; and they seek my life to take 
it away. 

And the voice said, Go forth to-morrow, 
and stand upon the mount before the Lord. 




ELIJAH SLAYING THE 

cave, and passed the night there. As he 
slept the Lord said to him, What doest thou 
here, Elijah ? 

He said, I have been very jealous for the 
Lord God of hosts : for the children of 
Israel have forsaken thy covenant, broken 



PROPHETS OF BAAL. 

Elijah went forth ; and the Lord passed by. 
A great and strong wind rent the moun- 
tains, and broke the rocks in pieces before 
the Lord ; but the Lord was not in the wind. 
And after the wind was an earthquake ; but 
the Lord was not in the earthquake. And 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



263 



after the earthquake a fire ; but the Lord 
was not in the fire. 

And after the fire a still small voice. 
When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped 
his face in his mantle, and went out and 
stood in the mouth of the cave. And there 
came a voice to him, and said, What doest 
thou here, Elijah ? 



Thou shalt go and anoint Hazael to be king 
over Syria; and Jehu the son of Nimshi 
shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel ; and 
Elisha the son of Shaphat, of Abelmeholah, 
shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 
And it shall come to pass that him that 
escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu 
slay ; and him that escapeth the sword of 




ELIJAH AT THE MOUTH 

And he said, I have been very jealous for 
the Lord God of hosts : because the children 
of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown 
down thine altars, and slain the prophets 
with the sword ; and I, even I only, am left ; 
and they seek my life to take it away. 

Then the Lord said unto him, Go, return 
on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus. 



OF THE CAVE. 



Jehu shall Elisha slay. But know that I 
will have seven thousand in Israel, all the 
knees which have not bowed to Baal, and 
all the mouths which have not kissed him. 

So Elijah departed from Horeb, and he 
journeyed to the wilderness of Damascus. 

Now Ahab coveted a vineyard that was 
hard by his palace in Jezreel, for he was 



264 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



minded to make of it a garden of herbs ; 
and he said to him whose vineyard it was, a 
certain Naboth, Give me thy vineyard, and I 
will give thee a better vineyard for it ; or else, 
if thou wilt, I will give thee the worth of it 
in money. 

But Naboth said, God forbid that I should 
give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee ! 
And Ahab, when he heard this, was much 
displeased, so that he lay down on his bed 
and would eat nothing. 

A Wicked Plot. 

But Jezebel, his wife, when she had heard 
what ailed him, said, Arise, eat and drink and 
be merry ; I will give thee the vineyard of 
Naboth. So she sent letters to the elders of 
Jezreel, that they should suborn false 
witnesses against Naboth, who should testify 
against him that he had blasphemed God and 
the king. And the elders did so. They 
proclaimed a fast, and called an assembly, 
and because Naboth was a great man in 
Jezreel, they set him on high among the 
people. And as he sat, the false witnesses 
came, and testified against him. 

Then sentence was pronounced, and he 
was carried out of the city, and was stoned 
with stones, he and his sons with him. 

When Jezebel heard that Naboth was 
dead, she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession 
of the vineyard of Naboth, which he refused 
to give thee for money ; for he is not alive, 
but dead. 

So Ahab went down to take possession, 
with Jehu and Bidkar, his captains, riding 
behind him. But when he was come to the 
place, Elijah, the prophet of Tishbi, stood 
before him, and said to him, Hast thou 
killed, and also taken possession ? And 
Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O 
mine enemy ? 

And Elijah answered, I have found thee, 



because thou hast sold thyself to do evil in- 
the sight of the Lord. Therefore hear the 
word of the Lord. In the place where dogs 
licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick 
thy blood. And I will utterly destroy thy 
house ; and Jezebel the dogs shall eat by the 
wall of Jezreel. But Ahab, when he heard 
these words, humbled himself, and the sen- 
tence against him was delayed for a while. 

Ahab Makes War. 

Now Benhadad, the king of Syria, had 
covenanted to restore the cities which his 
father had taken from Omri, of which cities 
Ramoth in the land of Gilead was one ; and 
when three years had passed, and the king 
of Syria delayed to do the thing which he 
promised, it came into Ahab's heart to make 
war upon him. 

And when Jehoshaphat, king of Judah^ 
came to Samaria — for Jehoshaphat's son 
Jehoram had taken to wife Athaliah, the 
daughter of Ahab — Ahab said to him, Wilt 
thou go up with me to battle at Ramoth-in- 
Gilead? Jehoshaphat answered, I am as 
thou art ; my people as thy people ; nrv 
horses as thy horses. Only he would have 
the king inquire of the Lord whether they 
should do well to go up. So Ahab called 
together the prophets of Baal, about four 
hundred men, and inquired of them, shall I 
go up to Ramoth-in-Gilead, or shall I 
forbear ? And they answered with one voice,. 
Go up, and the Lord shall deliver it into the 
hand of the king. 

But one of the Lord's prophets foretold 
evil to Ahab if he went into battle. Ahab 
was greatly displeased and commanded that 
he should be put in prison and fed with the 
bread and water of affliction. 

So Ahab went up to Ramoth-in-Gilead^ 
and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah,with him. 
And Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, I will 




ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS AT THE BROOK CHERITH 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH, 



265 



disguise myself; and put thou on thy robes. 
So he disguised himself and entered into the 
battle. Now the king of Syria had com- 
manded his captains that they should fight 
neither small nor great, but only with the 
king of Israel. 

When therefore they saw Jehoshaphat in 
his robes they turned aside to fight against 



Then the battle waxed fiercer and fiercer 
all that day; and the king, that his host 
might make head against the Syrians, bade 
his servants prop him up in his chariot. At 
evening he died ; and about the going down 
of the sun there went this proclamation 
throughout the host, Every man to his city, 
and every man to his own country. 




THE DEATH OF KING AHAB. 



him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. So they 
knew he was not the king of Israel, and left 
pursuing him. Nevertheless Ahab did not 
escape the sentence that had been pronounced 
against him ; for a certain man, shooting an 
arrow from his bow at random, smote him 
where the helmet is joined to the breastplate. 
Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, 
Turn and carry me out of the battle. 



They brought the body of the king to 
Samaria, and buried him there. His chariot 
and his armor they washed in the pool of 
Samaria, and the dogs licked his blood. 

And Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, was made 
king in his place. He did wickedly, as his 
father had done. And he fell down from an 
upper chamber in his palace and was hurt, 
and made sick. Then he sent messengers to 



266 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



Baal-zebub, the idol of the Philistines, to ask 
whether he would get well of his sickness. 
And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, 
Go up to meet the messengers of Ahaziah, 
and say to them, Is it because there is no 
God in Israel that you are going to ask Baal- 
zebub, the idol of the Philistines ? Now, 
therefore, the Lord says that Ahaziah shall 
not rise up from that bed on which he is laid, 
but shall surely die. 

Three Captains and Their Men. 

And Elijah met the messengers, and spoke 
to them the words that the Lord com- 
manded. And they came to Ahaziah again, 
and he said to them, Why are you comeback 
so soon? They answered, There came a 
man to meet us, who said, Go back to king 
Ahaziah and tell him, that because he has 
sent to ask of the idol Baal-zebub, he shall 
not rise up from the bed on which he is laid, 
but shall surely die. The king said to the 
messengers, What sort of a man was he that 
met you and told you these words ? They 
answered, He was a hairy man, with a girdle 
of leather about his loins. And Ahaziah 
said, It is Elijah. 

Then the king was displeased, and sent a 
captain of his army, with fifty soldiers, to take 
Elijah, and bring him to the king. And they 
came, and found him sitting on the top of a 
hill; and the captain called to him, and said, 
Thou prophet, the king commands thee to 
come down. Elijah answered, If I be a 
prophet, let fire come down from heaven and 
burn up thee and thy fifty men. And there 
came down fire from heaven, and burned up 
the captain and the fifty men who were with 
him. 

And Ahaziah sent another captain with 
fifty men, and he came to Elijah and called 
to him, saying, Thou prophet, the king com- 
mands thee to come down quickly. Elijah 



answered, If I be a prophet, let fire come 
down from heaven and burn up thee and thy 
fifty men. Then fire came down again from 
heaven, and burned up the captain and his 
fifty men. 

And Ahaziah sent a third captain with 
fifty men more. But when he came to the 
place where Elijah was, he fell on his knees 
before him, and said, O prophet, I pray thee, 
save my life and the lives of these fifty men, 
thy servants. Let not the fire come down 
from heaven and burn us, as it burned the 
two captains, with their men, who were here 
before us. 

Story of Jehu. 

And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, 
Go with him, be not afraid. So Elijah went 
with him to the king. And Elijah said to 
the king, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou 
hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, 
the idol of the Philistines, instead of sending 
to me, the God of Israel, therefore thou shalt 
not rise up from the bed on which thou art 
laid, but shalt surely die. So Ahaziah died, 
as Elijah told him, and Jehoram, his brother, 
was made king over the ten tribes of Israel. 
Another Ahaziah about this time was king 
in Judah. 

It happened that in the twelfth year of 
Jehoram, Elisha the prophet called a ceitain 
young man of the school of the prophets, and 
said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take 
this box of oil in thine hand, and go to 
Ramoth-in-Gilead ; and when thou comest 
thither look out Jehu, the son of Nimshi, and 
take him apart from his brethren into an inner 
chamber. Then take the box of oil, and pour 
it upon his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, 
I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then 
open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 

This Elisha did that he might fulfill the 
commandment which the Lord gave to 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



267 



Elijah, his master, in Horeb, the mount of 
God, saying, Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt 
thou anoint to be king over Israel. 

Now there stood a watchman on the tower 
in Jezreel, and the man said, I see a company. 
Then said the king, Send a horseman to 
meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? 
So there rode a horseman to meet them. 



came to them, but he cometh not again ; and 
the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the 
son of Nimshi ; for he driveth furiously. 

Then said the king, Make ready my 
chariot. So they made ready his chariot, 
and he went forth to meet Jehu ; and Ahaz- 
iah, king of Judah, went with him, for 
Ahaziah had come down to see him, because 




THE BODY OF JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. 



And when the man came to them he said, 
Thus saith the king, Is it peace? Jehu 
answered, What hast thou to do with peace ? 
Turn thee behind me. The watchman said, 
The messenger came to them, but he cometh 
not again. So the king sent a second 
messenger, and it happened to him as to the 
first. The watchman said, The messenger 



he had been sick. So the two kings went 
forth, each in his own chariot. 

Now the place of their meeting was near 
to the vineyard of Naboth. And when 
Jehoram met Jehu he said, Is it peace, Jehu ? 
But Jehu answered, What peace can there be, 
so long as the wickedness of thy mother 
Jezebel is so great? — for Jezebel ruled the 



268 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



king, her son. Then Jehoram turned his 
chariot about, crying out, There is treachery, 
O Ahaziah. 

Then Jehu drew his bow with all his might, 
and smote Jehoram between the shoulders ; 
and the arrow pierced him to the heart, so 
that he sank down dead in the chariot. Then 
said Jehu to Bidkar, his captain, Take up his 
body, and cast it into the portion of Naboth. 
Dost thou not remember how, when thou 
and I rode behind Ahab his father, the Lord 
laid this sentence upon his house, Surely I 
have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood 
of his sons ; and I will requite thee in this 
portion, saith the Lord ? 

Death of Jezebel. 

Then Jehu rode into Jezreel. And when 
he was come thither Jezebel adorned herself, 
and painted her face — for she knew that her 
son was dead, and that she must herself die 
— and as Jehu passed by, she looked out from 
a window, and cried, Had Zimri peace, who 
slew his master ? 

Jehu lifted up his face to the window and 
cried, Who is on my side? Who ? And there 
looked out to him from one window two of 
the servants of the women's chambers, and 
from another three. He said to them, Throw 
her down. And they threw her down ; and 
her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on 
the horses ; and he trampled her under the 
feet of the horses. And when he was come 
in, he sat down to eat and drink. Afterwards 
he said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and 
bury her; for she was a king's daughter. 

But when they went to bury her, they found 
no more of her than the skull and the feet 
and the palms of the hands. When Jehu 
heard this, he said, Now is fulfilled that 
which the Lord spoke by the mouth of Elijah, 
In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the 
flesh of Jezebel. 



When the Lord would take Elijah up into 
heaven, he went with Elisha, who ministered 
unto him, from Gilgal in the land of Ephraim, 
and he said to him, Tarry here, I pray thee ; 
for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. But 
Elisha answered, As the Lord liveth, and as 
thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So 
they went to Bethel. 

The Prophet's Mantle. 

And the young men of the school of the 
prophets that was in Bethel said unto Elisha, 
Knowest thou that the Lord will take away 
thy master from thee to-day ? Elisha ans- 
wered, Yea, I know it ; hold ye your peace. 

Then Elijah said to him, Elisha, tarry here, 
I pray thee ; for the Lord hath sent me to 
Jericho. But Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, 
and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. 
So they went to Jericho. 

And the young men that were of the 
school of the prophets in Jericho said to 
Elisha, Knowest thou that the Lord will take 
awa> thy master from thee to-day? And Elisha 
answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 

And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray 
thoe, here ; for the Lord hath sent me to 
Jordan. But Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, 
I will not leave thee. And they two went on. 

And fifty men of the school of the 
prophets went and stood to view afar off. 
And they two stood by Jordan. 

Then Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it 
up till it was as a rod, and smote the waters 
therewith ; and they were divided hither and 
thither, so that they two went over on dry 
ground. 

And when they had gone over, Elijah said 
to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, when 
I shall be taken away from thee. Elisha 
said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy 
spirit rest upon me. Elijah said, Thou hast 
asked a hard thing : if thou see me taken 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



269 



from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; but if 
not, it shall not be so. 

And as they still went on and talked, 
behold there appeared a chariot of fire and 
horses of fire, and parted them both asunder ; 
and Elijah went up by a storm into the sky. 



Now at this time the royal house of David 
was brought very low; for, first, Jehoram 
the father of Ahaziah had slain all his 
brethren, the sons of King Jehoshaphat; 
and, next, the Philistines having joined 
themselves with the Arabians, had slain 




ELIJAH TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN. 



And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, 
mv father, the chariot of Israel and the 
horsemen thereof. 

When Jehu the son of Nimshi slew Je- 
horam the son of Ahab, and made an end of 
all the house of Ahab, he slew also Ahaziah 
king of Judah, and all his brethren. 



others of the princes ; and, last, many had 
perished by the hand of Jehu. 

When, therefore, Athaliah, daughter of 
Ahab and Jezebel, and mother to Ahaziah, 
heard what Jehu had done, then she slew all 
that remained of the blood royal, hoping to 
gain the kingdom for herself. 



270 



THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 



But Jehosheba, that was sister to Ahaziah, 
being wife to Jehoiada the high-priest, stole 
one of the king's sons, Joash by name, from 
the slaughter. First she hid him and his 
nurse in a bed- chamber of the palace; but 
afterwards she hid the boy in the house of 
God. For six years was he hidden; and 
Athaliah reigned over the land. 

Builds a House for Baal. 

Much evil did Athaliah do. She built a 
house for Baal, taking for it the very stones 
of the house of God, and putting therein 
vessels from the Lord's sanctuary. 

In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the 
captains of the mercenaries and of the body- 
guard, and brought them into the house of 
the Lord, and made a covenant with them, 
and took an oath of them, and showed them 
the king's son. Also he gathered the Levites 
out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of 
the fathers of the land; and they all made a 
covenant with him. And he said to them, 
The king's son shall reign, as the Lord ha^h 
said of the sons of David. 

Further, he set one division at the south 
gate of the temple, and one at the north ; 
and two he brought into the court of the 
temple, and set them on the right hand of 
the king and on his left hand. The Levites, 
he said, shall compass the king round about, 
every man with his weapons in his hand, and 
whosoever else cometh into the temple; but 
be ye with the king when he goeth out and 



when he cometh in. And he gave the cap- 
tains spears, and bucklers, and shields, that 
had been King David's, which were in the 
Lord's house. 

They put the young king on a platform, 
so that he could be seen of all the people. 
Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him to 
be king, and put the crown on his head, and 
the book of the law also, and said, God save 
the king ! And all the people clapped their 
hands, and shouted. 

Now when Athaliah heard the noise of 
the people running about and praising the 
king, she came into the temple of the Lord. 
And the king stood, as was the custom, upon 
the pillar, and the princes and the trumpeters 
stood by the king; and all the people of the 
land rejoiced at the sight, and blew with 
trumpets. Then Athaliah rent her clothes,, 
and cried, Conspiracy ! Conspiracy ! 

But Jehoiada the priest commanded the 
captains of the guard and the officers of the 
host, saying, Take her out, keeping her 
between your ranks ; and any man that 
followeth her, slay with the sword. But 
slay her not within the temple. 

So they laid hands on her, and she went 
by the way by which the horses came into 
the king's palace. There was she slain. 
Afterwards the people went into the house 
of Baal, and broke it down, and slew Mattan 
the priest of Baal before the altar. So Joash 
reigned in his father's stead, being seven 
years old. 




THANKSGIVING UNTO THE LORD. 



271 




THE PATH OF WISDOM. 



272 



CHAPTER XX, 



B. C. 891, 

The Story of Elisha — Salt in the Water — War Against Moab — The Prophet's 
Chamber — The Woman of Shunem — Restoring a Dead Child — A Terrible Famine — > 
Vessels of Oil — Iron Made to Swim — Story of Naaman — Sin of Gehazi — A Young 
Man's Vision — Stoning of the High -Priest— What Happened in Syria — Elisha's 
Last Words and Death — The Syrians Defeated — Parable of the Thistle and Cedar. 




LISHA took up the mantle of 
Elijah that fell from him, and 
went back, and stood by the bank 
of Jordan. And he wrapped 
up the mantle as Elijah nad 
wrapped it up, and smote the 
waters, and said, Where is the 
-Lord God of Elijah? And when he had 
■smitten them, they parted hither and thither ; 
and Elisha went over. 

And when the young men of the school of 
the prophets which were at Jericho opposite 
saw what he did, they said, The spirit of 
Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came 
to meet him, and bowed themselves to the 
ground before him. 

Then they said unto him, There are with 
thy servants fifty strong men ; let them go, 
we pray thee, and seek thy master : lest 
peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath 
taken him up, and cast him upon some 
mountain or in some valley. But he said, 
"Ye shall not send. 

And when they urged him till he was 
ashamed, he said, Send. They sent, there- 
fore, fifty men, who sought three days, but 
found him not. 

And when they came to him again, for he 

tarried at Jericho, he said unto them, Did I 

not say, Go not ? The men of the city said 

unto Elisha, The situation of the city is 

18 



pleasant, as my lord seeth ; but the water is 
bad, and the ground barren. Then he said, 
Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. 
And they brought it to him. 

The Waters Made Sweet. 

Then he went forth unto the spring of the 
waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, 
Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these 
waters ; there shall not be from thence any 
more death or barrenness. And he went 
from Jericho to Bethel, and from Bethel to 
Carmel, and from Carmel to Samaria. 

Mesha the king of Moab paid year by 
year to the king of Israel the wool of a 
hundred thousand lambs and an hundred 
thousand sheep. But when Ahab was dead 
he rebelled. Then Jehoram king of Israel, 
that reigned after Ahaziah his brother, sent 
to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The 
king of Moab hath rebelled against me ; wilt 
thou go with me to battle against him ? 

Jehoshaphat answered, I am as thou art, 
my people as thy people, and my horses as 
thy horses. And he said, Which way shall 
we go up ? Jehoram said, By the way of 
the wilderness of Edom. 

So these two kings went; and they 
marched by the south of the Salt Sea. And 
when they had marched seven days, and the 
king of Edom had joined himself to them, 

273 



274 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



they found no water for the host or for the 
beasts that carried the baggage. 

Then Jehoram said, Alas ! that the Lord 
hath called three kings together to deliver 
them into the hand of Moab ! Jehoshaphat 
said, Is there not a prophet of the Lord that 
we may inquire of the Lord by him ? One 
of the king of Israel's servants answered, 
Elisha the son of Shaphat, that was servant 
to Elijah, is here. And Jehoshaphat said, 
The word of the Lord is with him. 

Music by a Minstrel. 

So the three kings went over to inquire of 
him. And Elisha said unto the king of 
Israel, What have I to do with thee ? Get 
thee to the prophets of thy father, and the 
prophets of thy mother. The king of Israel 
said, Say not so ; for the Lord hath called 
these three kings together to deliver them 
into the hands of Moab. 

But Elisha said, As the Lord of hoses 
liveth, before whom I stand, were it not that 
I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the 
king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, 
nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. 

And when the minstrel played, the Spirit 
of the Lord came upon him, and he said, 
Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of 
pits. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not 
feel wind nor see rain, yet that valley shall be 
filled with water, that ye may drink, and 
your cattle, and your beasts of burden. And 
this is but a light thing in the sight of the 
Lord. He will also deliver the Moabites into 
your hand. Ye shall smite every fenced city, 
and every choice city, and fell every fruitful 
tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar 
every good piece of land with stones. 

And in the morning, at sunrise, when the 
sacrifice is offered, there came water from the 
hill country of Edom, and the valley was 
filled with water. 



Now the Moabites, when they heard that 
the three kings were come against them, had 
gathered all that were able to wear armor, 
and stood on the north side of the valley. 
And in the morning early, when the sun 
shone on the water, the Moabites saw that it 
was red even as blood. And they said, This 
is blood : the kings are surely slain ; they 
have smitten one another ; now therefore, 
Moab, to the spoil. 

But when they came to the camp of Israel, 
the Israelites rose up and smote them, so that 
they fled ; and the Israelites went on smiting 
them even in their own country. They beat 
down the cities, and on every good piece of 
land they cast stones, every man a stone ; 
and they stopped all the wells of water, and 
felled all the fruitful trees. Only Kir-haraseth 
they could not take, but the slingers went 
about it and smote it. And when the king 
of Moab saw that his enemies were too strong 
for him, he took seven hundred men that 
drew the sword, to break through their lines 
to where the king of Edom was encamped ; 
but he could not. 

Then he took his eldest son, that should 
have reigned after him, and offered him up 
for a burnt-offering to his god Chemosh on 
the wall. And the Israelites were greatly 
troubled that such a thing should have been 
done ; and they returned to their own land. 

The Woman of Shunem. 

It fell on a day that Elisha went to Shunem, 
where there was a rich woman, who would 
have him eat bread in her house, and would 
take no denial. 

The woman said to her husband, I perceive 
that this is a holy man of God which passeth 
by us continually. Let us build a little 
chamber out of the wall for him ; and put 
therein a bed and a table and a chair and a 
candlestick ; and it shall be, when he cometn 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



275 



to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it 
was so that when he came thither again he 
turned into the chamber, and lay there. And 
he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shu- 
nammite. 

So Gehazi called her, and she stood before 
him. He said to Gehazi, Say now unto her, 
Behold now, thou hast been careful for us 
with all this care ; what is to be done for 
thee ? Wouldest thou be spoken for to the 
king, or to the captain of the host ? 

But the woman answered, I dwell among 
mine own people. Then Elisha said, What 
is then to be done for her ? Gehazi 
answered, Verily she hath no child, and her 
husband is old. And Elisha said, Call her. 
So she came and stood in the door. 

Elisha said to her, About this time next 
year thou shalt embrace a son. And she 
said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not 
lie unto thine handmaid. 

At that time in the year following she had 
a son. 

On a certain day, when the child was 
grown, he went out to his father to the 
reapers. And he said to his father, My 
head, my head ! And his father said to the 
lad that waited on him, Carry him to his 
mother. 

The Child Dies. 

So the lad carried the child to his mother ; 
and he sat on her knees till noon, and then 
died. And she went up and laid him on Hi" 
bed of the man of God, and shut the door 
upon him. 

Then she called unto her husband, and 
said, Send me one of the young men, and one 
of the asses, that I may go to the man of 
God, and come again. And he said, Where- 
fore wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither 
new moon nor sabbath. The beginning of 
each month was to be kept holy and Elisha 



held services on Mount Carmel. And she 
said, Peace ; let me go. 

Then she said to her servant that went with 
her, Drive, and go forward ; delay me not in 
my riding, except I bid thee. 

So she went, and came to the man of God 
at Mount Carmel. When Elisha saw her 
afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, That 
is the Shunammite. Run now to meet her, 
and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it 
well with thy husband ? Is it well with the 
child? She answered, Peace. 

And when she came to the man of God at 
the hill, she caught him by the feet; but 
Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And 
the man of God said, Let her alone ; for her 
soul is vexed within her ; and the Lord hath 
hid the matter from me, and hath not told 
me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of 
my lord ? Did I not say, Do not deceive 
me? 

His Eyes See Again. 

Then Elisha said to Gehazi, Gird up thy 
loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go 
thy way; if thou meet any man, salute him 
not ; and if any man salute thee, answer him 
not ; and lay my staff upon the face of the 
child. 

And the mother of the child said, As the 
Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not 
leave thee. Then Elisha arose and followed 
her. 

Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the 
staff upon the face of the child ; but there 
was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore 
he returned to meet the prophet, and told 
him, saying, The child is not awaked. 

And when Elisha was come into the house 
the child was dead, and laid upon his bed in 
the prophet's chamber. He went in, there- 
fore, and shut the door upon them twain, and 
prayed unto the Lord. And he lay upon the 



276 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



child, and put his mouth upon the child's 
mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his 
hands upon his hands ; so he stretched him- 
self upon the child, and the flesh of the child 
waxed warm. Then he came down from the 
chamber, and walked to and fro in the house ; 
and went up to the chamber again, and 
stretched himself upon the child. And the 
child sneezed seven times, and opened his 
eyes. 

Then Elisha called Gehazi, and said, Call 
this Shunammite. So Gehazi called her. 
And when she was come in unto him, he 
said, Take up thy son. Then she went in 
and fell at his feet, and bowed he* self to the 
ground before him, and took up her son and 
went out. 

Seven Years of Famine. 

After this Elisha said to the woman, Arise, 
and go thou and thine h^nsehold, and 
sojourn wheresoever thou canst; for the 
Lord will send a famine on this land, and it 
shall be for seven years. So the woman 
arose, and did after the saying of the man of 
God; and went with her household, and 
sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven 
years. 

At the end of seven years, she returned out 
of the land of the Philistines; and went forth 
to cry to the king for her house and for her 
land. Now it chanced that at this very time 
the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant 
of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray 
thee, all the great things that Elisha hath 
done. And as he was telling the king how 
he had restored a dead body to life, the very 
woman, whose son he had restored to life, 
cried to the king for her house and for her 
land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, 
this is the woman, and this is her son, whom 
Elisha restored to life. 

And when the king asked the woman, she 



told him. So the king appointed a certain 
officer, and said, Restore all that was hers, 
and all the fruits of the field since the day 
when she left the land, even until now. 

There cried a certain woman, that had 
been wife to one of the prophets, saying, Thy 
servant my husband is dead ; and thou 
knowestthat he did fear the Lord; and now 
the creditor is come to take unto him my two 
sons to be bondmen. 

Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for 
thee ? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? 
She said, Thine handmaid has nothing in the 
house, save so much oil as one might anoint 
himself with. 

A Debt Paid with Oil. 

Then he said, Go borrow thee vessels 
from all thy neighbors round about ; borrow 
• pty vessels ; borrow not a few. And 
when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the 
door upon thee and thy sons, and shalt pour 
out into all the vessels that thou hast 
borrowed; and when thou hast filled a vessel 
thou shalt set it aside. 

So she went back to her house, and 
borrowed vessels as many as she could, and 
shut the door upon herself and sons. They 
brought the vessels to her, and she poured 
out. And when all the vessels were full, she 
said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And 
he said, There is not a vessel more. And the 
oil stayed. 

Then she came and told the man of God. 
He said, Go, sell the oil and pay thy debt ; 
and live thou and thy children on the rest. 

Again, there was a dearth, and Elisha 
came to Gilgal ; and the young men of the 
school of the prophets that were there were 
sitting before him while he taught them. 
He said unto his servant, Set on the great 
pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the 
prophets. 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



277 



And one went out into the field to gather 
herbs, and found a wild gourd, and gathered 
of the fruit his garment full, and came and 
shred them into the pottage ; for they knew 
not that they were harmful. So they poured 
out for the men to eat. 

And as they were eating of the pottage, 
one cried out, O man of God, there is death 



man a beam, and let us make a place where 
we may dwell. Elisha answered, Go ye. 

One of the young men said, Consent to go 
with thy servants. And he answered, I will 
go. 

So he went with them. And when they 
came to Jordan they cut down the wood. 
And as one was lopping a beam, the iron of 




ELISHA CAUSING IRON TO SWIM. 



in the pot And they could not eat thereof. 
Then Elisha said, Bring- meal. 

So they brought it, and he cast it into the 
pot, and said, Pour out for the people that 
they may eat. They ate and took no harm. 

The young men of the school of the pro- 
phets that was at Jericho said to Elisha, The 
place where we dwell is too narrow for us. 
Let us go unto Jordan, and take thence every 



the axe fell into the water, and the man cried 
out, Alas, master for it was borrowed. The 
man of God said, Where fell it ? 

And when the man showed him the place, 
he cut down a stick and cast it in thither, and 
the iron did swim. Then he said to the man, 
Take it up to thee. And the man put out 
his hand and took it. 

Naaman, captain of the host of the king of 



278 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



Syria, was a great man with his master, and 
honorable, because by him the Lord had 
given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a 
mighty man of valor ; but he was a leper. 

The Little Maid. 

Now the Syrians had gone out by com- 
panies, and had brought away captives from 
the land of Israel ; among these was a little 
maid, who waited upon Naaman's wife. 

The maid said unto her mistress, Would 
God my lord were with the prophet that is 
in Samaria ! for he would heal him of his 
leprosy. And Naaman heard it, and told his 
master the king what the maid from the land 
of Israel had said. 

Then said the king, Go, depart; and I 
will send a letter unto the king of Israel. So 
Naaman departed, taking with him ten 
talents of silver, and six thousand shekels of 
gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he 
brought the letter to the king of Israel. 

The letter was written in this fashion : 
Behold, I have sent herewith Naaman my 
servant that thou mayest heal him of his 
leprosy. 

And when the king of Israel had read the 
letter, he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, 
to kill and make alive, that this man doth 
send unto me to heal a man of his leprosy ? 
Wherefore see how he seeketh a quarrel 
against me. 

But when Elisha the man of God heard 
that the king of Israel had rent his clothes he 
sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent 
thy clothes ? Let him come now to me, and 
he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 
So Naaman came with his chariot and with 
all his company, and halted at the door of 
Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto 
him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven 
times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, 
and thou shalt be clean. 



But Naaman was angry, and said, 1 
thought that he would surely come out to 
me, and stand and call on the name of 
Jehovah his God, and pass his hand over the 
place and heal the leper. Are not Abana 
and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than 
all the waters of Israel ? May I not wash 
in them and be clean ? 

So he turned and went away in a rage 
His servants came near and spoke unto him, 
saying, My father, if the prophet had bidden 
thee to do some great thing, wouldest thou 
not have done it ? How much rather, then, 
shouldest thou do it when he saith, Wash, 
and be clean ? 

Then he went down and dipped himself 
seven times in Jordan, and his flesh came 
again as the flesh of a little child, and he was 
clean. Then he returned to the man of God, 
he and all his company, and came and stood 
before him. And he said, Behold, now I 
know that there is no God in all the earth 
but in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee, 
take a present from thy servant. 

Gehazi Becomes a Leper. 

But Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, before 
whom I stand, I will receive none. And 
Naaman urged him to take it, but he refused. 

Then Naaman said, Wilt thou give to thy 
servant two mules' burden of earth ? For 
thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt 
offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but 
only unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord 
pardon thy servant, that when my master 
goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship 
there, and he leaneth on my arm, and I bow 
myself in the house of Rimmon ; when I bow 
myself in the house, the Lord pardon thy 
servant. Elisha said unto him, Go in peace. 

So he departed ; but when he had gone a 
little way, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, said 
to himself, My master hath spared Naaman 




NAAMAN AT THE DOOR OF THE PROPHET ELISHA. 



279 



280 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



this Syrian in not receiving at his hands the 
present which he brought ; but, as the Lord 
liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat 
of him. 

So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And 
when Naaman saw him running after him, he 
lighted down from his chariot to meet him, 
and said, Is all peace ? Gehazi said, All is 
peace. My master hath sent me, saying, 
Behold, even now there be come to me from 
Mount Ephraim two young men from the 
school of prophets ; give them, I pray thee, 
a talent of silver and two changes of raiment. 

Naaman said to him, Be content ; take two 
talents. And he urged him, and bound two 
talents of silver in two bags with two changes 
of raiment, and laid them upon two of his 
servants ; and they bare them before Gehazi. 

When he came to the hill he took the 
gifts from the hands of the servants and hid 
them in the house, and went in and stood 
before his master. Elisha said to him, 
Whence comest thou, Gehazi? Gehazi 
answered, Thy servant went no whither. 

Elisha said to him, Went not my heart 
with thee, when the man turned again from 
his chariot to meet thee ? Is this a time to 
receive silver, and garments, and oliveyards, 
and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and 
men-servants, and maid-servants ? The lep- 
rosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave to 
thee and to thy race for ever. And the 
man went out from his presence a leper as 
white as snow. 

Elisha and the Syrians. 

The king of Syria warred against Israel, 
and took counsel with his servants, saying, 
In such and such a place we will pitch our 
camp. And Elisha, the man of God, sent 
unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that 
thou pass not such a place ; for thither the 
Syrians are come down. 



And the king of Israel avoided the place 
concerning which the man of God had warned! 
him. And this happened not once nor twice 
only, but many times. 

Therefore the heart of the king of Syriat 
was sore troubled for this thing. And he 
called his servants, and said unto them, Will 
ye not show me which of us helpeth the king 
of Israel ? 

And one of his servants said, There is no* 
one, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the 
prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of 
Israel the words that thou speakest in the 
secret place of thy bedchamber. The king 
said, Go, spy out where he is, that I may 
send and fetch him. It was told the king, 
saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. So the 
king sent thither horses and chariots and a 
great host; and they came by night and 
encompassed the city. 

A Strange Sight. 

And when the servant of the man of God 
had risen early and gone forth from the 
house, a host encompassed the city, having 
with it horses and footmen. And the ser- 
vant said unto him, A^-s, my master, what 
shall we do? 

Elisha answered him, Fear not ; for they 
that are with us are more than they that are 
with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, 
Lord, I pray thee, open this young man's 
eyes, that he may see. 

And the Lord opened the eyes of the 
young man ; and, behold, the mountain was 
full of horses and chariots of fire round about 
Elisha. When the Syrians came down from 
the hills to besiege the city, Elisha prayed 
again unto the Lord, saying, Smite this 
people, I pray thee, with blindness. 

So the Lord smote them with blindness, 
according to the word of Elisha. And 
Elisha said, This is not the way, neither is. 




ELISHA WITNESSING THE. TRANSLATIC N OF ELIJAH 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



281 



this the city. Come ye after me, and I will 
bring you to the man whom ye seek. 

But he led them to Samaria ; and when 
they were come to Samaria he prayed again, 
Lord open the eyes of these men that they 
may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, 



bow. Set bread and water before them that 
they may eat and drink and go back to their 
master. 

So the king made a great feast for them ; 
and when they had eaten and drunk he sent 
them away, and they went to their master. 




THE STONING OF ZECHARIAH, 



and they saw ; and they were in the midst of 
Samaria. 

When the king of Israel saw them he said, 
My father, shall I smite them till I destroy 
them. Elisha answered, Thou shalt not 
smite them. Smite those whom thou hast 
taken captive with thy own sword and thy own 



So the bands of Syria came no more into the 
land of Israel. 

In the days of Elisha, when Joash was. 
king of Judah, Zechariah, a good man, was 
high -priest. He saw the idolatry of the 
people and prophesied against them, saying, 
Why transgress ye the commandments of the 



282 



THE 'STORY OF ELISHA. 



Lord; that ye cannot prosper ? Because ye 
have forsaken the Lord, he hath also for- 
saken you. 

This so displeased the king that he com- 
manded Zechariah to be stoned to death. 
The high-priest's father, Jehoiada, had shown 
kindness to the king, but this did not prevent 
the king from slaying the high-priest. 
Afterward the king's servants conspired 
against him for the blood he had shed, and 
slew him on his bed. They buried him in 
the city of David, but not in the sepulchres 
of the kings. 

Elisha went to Damascus. At that time 
Ben-hadad king of Syria was sick ; and it 
was told him, saying. The man of God is 
come hither. Then Ben-hadad said to 
Hazael, who was one of his officers, Take 
a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man 
of God, and inquire of the Lord by him 
whether I shall recover of this disease. 

Becomes King of Syria. 

So Hazael went to meet the prophet, and 
took a present with him, even of every good 
thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, 
and came and stood before Elisha, and said, 
Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent, 
saying, Shall I recover of this disease ? 

And Elisha said unto him, Go, say to the 
king, if thou wilt, that he shall certainly live; 
nevertheless the Lord hath showed me that 
he will certainly die. And when he had said 
this, he looked steadfastly at Hazael, till the 
man was ashamed. And Elisha wept. 

Hazael said, Why weepest thou ? Elisha 
answered, I weep, because I know the evil 
that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel : 
their strongholds thou shalt burn with fire, 
and slay the people. 

Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who 
is but a dog, that he should do this great 
thing? Elisha answered, The Lord hath 



showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 

So Hazael departed from Elisha, and came 
to his master, who said to him, What said 
Elisha to- thee? Hazael answered, He told 
me that thou shouldest surely recover. 

But on the morrow, Hazael took a thick 
cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it 
on the sick man's face, so that he died. And 
Hazael reigned in his stead. 

Again Elisha called a certain young man 
of the school of the prophets, and said to 
him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box 
of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-in- 
Gilead. And when thou comest thither, look 
out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the 
son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him rise 
up from where he sitteth with the other cap- 
tains, and take him to a private chamber; 
then take the box of oil, and pour it on his 
head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have 
anointed thee king over Israel. Then open 
the door and flee, and tarry not. And the 
young man did so. 

Thus Jehu rebelled against Jehoram the 
son of Ahab, and rode to Jezreel; and when 
Jehoram came out to meet him, he slew him, 
and reigned over Israel in his stead. 

Last Words of Elisha. 

Elisha was fallen sick of the sickness 
whereof he died. And Joash the king of 
Israel came down unto him, and wept before 
him, saying, O my father, my father! The 
chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! 

Elisha said unto him, Take bow anc 
arrows. So the king took unto him a bow 
and arrows. 

Then the prophet said, Put now thine hand 
upon the bow. And the king did so. And 
Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. 
And he said, Open the window eastward. 
So the king opened it. Then Elisha said, 
Shoot. And the king shot. 



284 



THE STORY OF ELISHA. 



And Elisha said The arrow of the Lord's 
deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance 
from Syria ; for thou shalt smite the Syrians 
in Aphek till thou have consumed them. 

Then Elisha said, Take the arrows. And 
the king took them. And he said unto the 
king of Israel, Smite upon the ground ; and 
the king smote upon the ground thrice, and 
stayed. 

The man of God was angry with him, and 
said, Thou shouldest have smitten upon the 
ground five or six times. Then hadst thou 
smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it ; 
whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 
So Elisha died, being full of years. 

Victory over the Syrians. 

But Hazel king of Syria oppressed Israel 
all the days of Jehoahaz. And the Lord was 
gracious unto them, and had compassion on 
them, and had respect unto them, because of 
his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
and would not destroy them, neither cast he 
them from his presence as yet. 

So Hazel king of Syria died; and Ben- 
hadad his son reigned in his stead. And 
Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out 
of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazel 
the cities, which he had taken out of the 
hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three 
times did Jehoash beat him, and recovered the 
cities of Israel. 

In the second year of Jehoash king of 
Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash 
king of Judah. He was twenty and five 
years old when he began to reign, and 
reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. 
And he did that which was right in the sight 
of the Lord, yet not like David his father : 
he did according to all things as Joash his 
father did. Howbeit the high places were 
not taken away : as yet the people did sacri- 
fice and burnt incense on the high places. 



As soon as the kingdom was confirmed in 
his hand, he slew his servants which had 
slain the king his father. But the children 
of the murderers he slew not: according 
unto that which is written in the book of the 
law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded > 
saying, The fathers shall not be put to death 
for the children, nor the children be put to 
death for the fathers ; but ev'ery man shall be 
put to death for his own sin. 

Parable of the Thistle and Cedar. 

Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash,, 
king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one 
another in the face. And Jehoash the king 
of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah > 
saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent 
to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 
Give thy daughter to my son to wife : and 
there passed by a wild beast that was in Leba- 
non, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast 
indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath 
lifted thee up : glory of this, and tarry at 
home: for why shouldest thou meddle to 
thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, 
and Judah with thee ? 

But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore 
Jehoash king of Israel went up: and he and 
Amaziah king of Judah looked one another 
in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth 
to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse 
before Israel ; and they fled every man to 
their tents. 

And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah 
king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of 
Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jeru- 
salem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem 
from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner 
gate, four hundred cubits. 

And he took all the gold and silver, and 
all the vessels that were found in the house 
of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's 
house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria^ 




CLEANSED FROM UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 



285 




THE SUN AND SHIELD. 



286 



CHAPTER XXI. 



B. C. 862-698. 

Two Prophets and a King — Jonah sent to Nineveh — A Prophet Cast into the Sea — 
The Great Fish — A Good King in Judah — The Temple Purified — A Royal Feast — 
The Sickness of Hezekiah — Babylon and Assyria — Message from the Assyrian King 
— Isaiah Gives Courage to the Jews — A Wonderful Vision. 




FTER the death of Elisha, his 
prophecy was fulfilled. Jehoash 
was victorious over the Syrians 
three times, but as the prophet 
also said, he could not wholly 
subdue them. Jehoash reigned 
sixteen years, and he died and was buried in 
Samaria ; and Jeroboam, his son, reigned in 
his stead. The people of Israel had been 
hard pressed by their enemies, and were in 
great trouble, and in need of help. 

So God was good to them, and gave 
Jeroboam strength to overcome the Syrians, 
and to take from them two of their cities, 
Damascus and Hamah. Yet the people did 
not thank God, or repent of their sins, but 
kept on worshipping the two golden calves, 
and increasing in wickedness. 

Then the Lord sent a prophet named Amos 
to warn them. And when Amos came he 
told the children of Israel that there was no 
other people on the earth whom God loved 
as well as he did them. They were his 
chosen ones. But they had loved evil and 
not good. They had been cruel to the poor, 
had robbed and cheated one another, and 
been guilty of many crimes. God had 
already punished them in the past with 
plagues of all sorts, hoping they would turn 
to him and repent, and he would forgive 
them. 



Then Amaziah, who was the chief priest 
at Bethel in the temple of Baal, sent to Jero- 
boam, saying Amos is speaking against thee 
to the children of Israel. For he says, 
Jeroboam shall be slain, and the people of 
Israel taken captive. 

What the Herdsman Said. 

And Amaziah said to Amos, O thou seer, 
go away into the land of Judah, and 
prophesy there. But prophesy no more in 
the place where King Jeroboam comes to 
worship. 

Then Amos said to Amaziah, I was no 
prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I 
was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore 
fruit. And the Lord came to me and said, Go, 
prophesy unto my people Israel. Therefore, 
Amaziah, hear thou the word of the Lord. 
Thou sayest, Prophesy not against the people 
of Israel ; but thus saith the Lord, Thy wife 
shall go away and leave thee ; thy sons and 
thy daughters shall fall by the sword ; and 
thou shalt die in a polluted land. 

The prophets Hosea and Joel also spoke 
to the people of Israel, in the days of King 
Jeroboam, and told them of the punishment 
in store for them, if they did not repent of 
their sins and give their hearts to God. Yet 
they would not listen to these good men, nor 
give up the worship of the golden calves. 

287 



288 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



And Jeroboam reigned forty-one years, when 
lie died, and Zachariah, his son, was made 
king in his stead. 

One of the prophets in the days of Jero- 
t>oam, king of Israel, was Jonah. He was 
sent by God with a message to the people of 
Ninevah. Ninevah was the capital of Assyria; 
it was a very large place, and its wickedness 
was very great. 

The errand upon which God sent Jonah 
was to cry against this city because of its 
sins, and to say to the people, Yet forty days, 
and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 

Now Jonah did not like to go on such an 
errand. He may have thought that the 
people would ill-treat him, perhaps kill him, 
if he came with such evil tidings. At all 
events, he made up his mind that he would 
not go to Nineveh, but as there was a ship 
just going to sail quite a different way, he 
said he would go into that ship, and so get 
away from the presence of the Lord. 

A Furious Tempest. 

Jonah found that he only ran into difficulty 
when he ran away from God. The Lord 
sent a great wind into the sea, and there was 
a mighty tempest, so that the ship was like 
to be broken. Then the sailors were afraid, 
and every man cried to his idol god, for they 
were heathens. Now they cast out the 
wares that were in the ship into the sea, to 
lighten it of them. Where was Jonah ? Fast 
asleep in the cabin. The captain came to 
him, and said, What do you mean by sleeping 
now? Arise, call upon your God, perhaps 
your God can save us. 

The sailors thought that perhaps this 
tempest came because of some hidden sin of 
one of their number. So they cast lots to 
try to find out the sinner. God directed the 
lot, and it fell upon Jonah. 

Then they said to him, Who are you ? Of 



what land are you a native ? What have 
you done to cause this storm ? 

Jonah, in his fear of God's anger, was not 
afraid of men now, but he boldly said, I am 
a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of 
heaven, who made both the sea and the dry 
land. I am now running away from some 
work that he gave me to do. 

The men at this were more afraid ; they 
knew that the storm was not a natural one 
but sent by God for a special reason. Why 
did you act so ? they said. What shall we 
do to you to make the sea calmer ? for the 
sea now was quite furious. 

They Throw Him Overboard. 

Throw me overboard, said Jonah ; then the 
sea will be calm to you : for I know that for 
my sake is this great tempest sent. The men 
did not like to do this ; they rowed very hard 
to bring the ship to land ; but they could not ; 
the raging of the waves increased every 
moment. 

Then these heathen men were so awe- 
struck with the greatness of the Lord God, 
that they cried unto him, and said, O Lord, 
thou knowest that it is not our wish to 
destroy this man, so do not punish us for 
casting him into the water ; the storm came 
as it pleased thee. 

Then they threw Jonah into the sea ; and 
the sea was calm and still at once. We are 
told that they feared the Lord exceedingly, 
and offered a sacrifice unto him, and made 
vows, or promises, to him. 

But what became of Jonah? Now the 
Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow 
up Jonah : and he was in the belly of the fish 
three days and three nights. He now began 
to think how foolish and wicked he had been, 
and he prayed to God even in that dreadful 
place. God heard his prayer, and the Lord 
! spoke to the fish ; so it went to the shore, 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



2&> 



and threw up Jonah in safety upon dry land. 

Now Jonah again heard God bid him go 
to Nineveh to deliver his message, and this 
time he went. 

Did the people ill-treat him when they 
heard him say that their city would be 
destroyed ? No ; they believed the message, 
and said, Let every man fast, and wear sack- 
cloth, and mourn; and let every man cry 



him, so he said that now he would spare 
their city. 

Jonah should have been glad at this happy 
ending of his painful errand. Instead of 
that he complained to God, and said, People 
will take me for a false prophet now that you 
have not let my prophecy come true. I had 
better die. God corrected this foolish, ill- 
tempered man. 




JONAH 

earnestly to God to turn away his anger 
from us, and let every man give up his evil 
ways which have brought this anger upon 
us. Who can tell if God will hear us and 
forgive us, so that we do not perish ? 

So every one mourned ; even the king on 
the throne laid aside his robes, and covered 
himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. The 
merciful God saw that they turned from their 
•evil ways, and humbled themselves before 
19 



SHELTERED BY THE VINE. 



While Jonah was watching the city, God 
bade a gourd grow up quickly to shelter him, 
and Jonah was very glad of its shade. But 
God prepared a worm to destroy the gourd 
in a night, so the next morning Jonah fainted 
from the heat, and then he grumbled because 
the gourd was gone. Then God said, You 
had pity on the gourd which came up in a 
night and perished in a night, why should I 
not spare that great city, Nineveh, with its 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



290 

large number of children and its innocent 
cattle? You fret at the loss of a worthless 
gourd, and you fret because I do not destroy 
a great city. You should rejoice in my 

mercy. 

We now come to the story of Hezekiah 
who reigned in Judah. He was the son of 
Kino- Ahaz. Now Ahaz had done very 
wickedly in the sight of the Lord. He 
walked in the way of the kings of Israel, 
according to the abominations of the heathen. 
He made one of his 
sons to pass through 
the fire to Molech ; 
and he sacrificed and 
burnt incense in the 
high places, and upon 
the hills, and under 
every green tree. And 
in the great court of 
the temple he set up 
an altar after the pat- 
tern of one that he had 
seen in Damascus; 
and the brazen altar 
of sacrifice he put 
down from its place; 
and he cut off the 
ornaments from the 
bases of the laver 
which Hiram had 
made for Solomon; 

and he took down the molten sea from the 
brazen oxen whereon it stood, and put it on 
a pavement of stone. 

Also the covered seat of the king, whereon 
he sat, when he came into the house of the 
Lord, did he take, to give it to the king of 
Assyria. And he broke in pieces the vessels 
of the house, and shut the doors of the house, 
so that the priests could not minister therein, 
nor offer the sacrifice morning and evening 
as the law commanded. 



Then Micah the Morasthite stood up, and 
prophesied against the land, saying to the 
people, Zion for your sake shall be plowed as 
a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, 
and the mountain of the house as the high 
places of the forest. 

But Hezekiah did that which was right in 
the sight of the Lord, according to all that 
his father David did. 

In the first year of his reign, in the first 
month of the year, he opened the doors of 




THE MOLTEN SEA. 

the house of the Lord, which his father had 
shut, and repaired them. And he brought 
the priests and the Levites into the eastern 
court, and said to them, Hear me, ye 
Levites ; sanctify now yourselves, and sanc- 
tify the house of the Lord God of your 
fathers, and carry forth all the uncleanness 
out of the Holy Place. For our fathers have 
trespassed, and have done that which was 
evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and 
have forsaken him, and have turned away 




HEZEKIAH CLEANSING THE TEMPLE. 



2V1 



292 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



their faces from the house of the Lord, and 
have shot up the doors, and put out the 
lamps, and have not burned incense, nor 
offered offerings therein. 

Therefore is the Lord wroth with us. Our 
fathers have fallen by the sword, and our 
sons and our daughters and our wives are in 
captivity for this. Now it is in mine heart to 
make a covenant with the Lord God of 
Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn from us. 
My sons, be not negligent: for the Lord 
hath chosen you to stand before him, and to 
serve him. 

Then the Levites cleansed the outer court, 
and the priests the Holy Place; all ttrj 
uncleanness that was therein they brought 
out ; and the Levites carried it to the brook 
Kidron. On the first day of the first month 
they began to sanctify. Eight days were 
they in purifying the courts, and eight days 
in purifying the temple. On the sixteenth 
dav of the first month they made an end. 

They Sound the Trumpets. 

Then they went to King Hezekiah, and 
said, We have cleansed all the house of the 
Lord, and the altar, and the table of the 
shewbread, and all the vessels. 

The next day they offered sacrifices; and 
when the burnt offering began, then the 
trumpets sounded, and all the instruments of 
music which David had commanded. And 
all the congregation worshipped, and the 
singers sang, and the trumpets sounded, till 
the burnt offering was finished. 

Also King Hezekiah and the princes com- 
manded the Levites to sing praises unto the 
Lord, using the words of David, and of 
Asaph the seer. 

In the second month of the year Hezekiah 
sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote 
letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that 
they should come to the house of the Lord 



at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the 
Lord God of Israel. For they could not 
keep it at the due time, because the house 
was not sanctified, neither had the people 
gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. 
This proclamation was made from Dan to 
Beer-sheba, saying, Ye children of Israel, 
turn again unto the Lord, the God of Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will return 
unto the remnant of you that are escaped out 
of the hand of the kings of Assyria. Be not 
stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield 
yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his 
sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever ; 
and serve the Lord your God, that the fierce- 
ness of his wrath may turn from you. 

Crowds at the Feast. 

So the posts passed from city to city, 
through the country of Ephraim and Manas- 
seh even unto Zebulun ; but they laughed 
them to scorn, and mocked them. Never- 
theless divers of Asher and Manasseh and 
Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to 
Jerusalem. And in Judah the people were 
of one heart to do the commandment of the 
king and of the princes ; so that there 
assembled much people in Jerusalem to keep 
the feast of unleavened bread in the second 
month. 

When Hezekiah had been king in Jeru- 
salem for fourteen years he was sick unto 
death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of 
Amoz, came to him, and said to him, Thus 
saith the Lord, Set thine house in order, for 
thou shalt die, and not live. 

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall 
and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech 
thee, O Lord, remember now how I have 
walked before thee in truth and with a 
perfect heart, and have done that which is 
good in thy sight And Hezekiah wept. 

And before Isaiah had gone out into the 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



293 



middle court of the palace, the word of the 
Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and 
tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus 
saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, 
I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy 
tears : behold, I will heal thee : on the third 
day thou shalt go up unto the house of the 
Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen 
years ; and I will deliver thee and this city 



ure-house, the silver, and the gold, and the 
precious ointments that he had, and his 
armory, and all that was found in his treas- 
ures ; there was nothing in his house, or in 
all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them 
not. 

Then came Isaiah the prophet and said to 
Hezekiah, What said these men ? And 
whence came they unto thee ? And Heze- 




THE LIPS OF ISAIAH TOUCHED 

out of the hand of the king of Assyria ; and 
I will defend this city for mine own sake, and 
for my servant David's sake. Isaiah said, 
Take a lump of figs and lay it on the boil. 
And he was soon well again. 

Berodach-baladan, king of Babylon, sent 
letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had 
heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 

Hezekiah received the ambassadors of the 
king of Babylon, and showed them his treas- 



WITH A COAL FROM THE ALTAR. 

kiah said, They are come from a far country, 
e^en from Babylon. 

Then Isaiah said, What have they seen in 
thy house ? Hezekiah answered, All that is 
in mine house have they seen ; there is 
nothing in my treasures that I have not 
shown them. 

Then Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the 
word of the Lord, Behold, the days come 
when all that is in thy house, and that which 



294 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



thy fathers have laid up in store unto this 
day, shall be carried away unto Babylon \ 
nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And 
some of thy posterity shall they take away, 
and they shall serve in the palace of the king 
of Babylon. 

And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the 
word of the Lord which he hath spoken. Is 
it not good if there be peace and prosperity 
in the days ? 

The Assyrians. 

In the fourth year of Hezekiah king of 
Judah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up 
against Samaria, and besieged it. For three 
years did the Assyrians besiege it; and in 
the sixth year of Hezekiah they took it, 
Sargon being then their king. 

All the days of Sargon, Hezekiah paid 
tribute to him, though the king of Babylon, 
when he sent ambassadors to him after his 
sickness, had well-nigh persuaded him to 
rebel. But when Sargon was dead, having 
been murdered in the royal city that he had 
built for himself, and Sennacherib his son 
reigned in his stead, then Hezekiah rebelled 
against him, refusing to pay tribute any 
1 longer. 

Then Sennacherib came up against the 
land Judah, and all the fenced cities, till 
Jerusalem was left alone. Then Hezekiah 
strengthened the walls, building it up where 
it was broken, and made darts and shields in 
abundance, and set captains over the people, 
and encouraged them, bidding them to be 
strong and courageous, For, said he, there 
are more with us than with him : with him is 
an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our 
God to help us, and to fight our battles. 
Also he took counsel with his princes and 
f his mighty men, to stop the waters of the 
fountains which were without the city. 

Nevertheless, when the king of Assyria 



threw up a mound against Jerusalem, and 
shut it in on every side, Hezekiah repented 
him of what he had done. His ministers 
also counselled submission, though Isaiah the 
prophet would have had him trust in the 
Lord. Therefore he sent to the king of 
Assyria at Lachish — for he had gone to 
Lachish, leaving his army at Jerusalem — 
saying, I have offended ; take away thy host 
from before the city; that which thou puttest 
on me I will bear. 

Then the king of Assyria put upon Heze- 
kiah a tribute of three hundred talents of 
silver, and thirty talents of gold. And Heze- 
kiah gave him all the silver that was found in 
the house of the Lord, and in the treasures 
of the king's house. At that time did he cut 
off the gold from the doors of the temple of 
the Lord, and from the pillars which he had 
himself overlaid, that he might pay the 
tribute which the king of Assyria had put 
upon him. 

Jerusalem Besieged. 

When Sennacherib had taken Lachish, he 
heard that Tirhakahthe Ethiopian was coming 
up against him with a great army from 
Egypt; therefore he sent to Hezekiah 
demanding of him that he should give up 
Jerusalem into his hands. The captain of 
his host, and the chief chamberlain, and 
another of the chief captains, did he send to 
King Hezekiah, and a great company of 
soldiers with them. 

Then these three ambassadors of Senna- 
cherib stood by the conduit of the upper 
pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's 
field, and called to Hezekiah to come out to 
them. 

The king sent Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, 
who was over the household, and Shebna the 
scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, 
to hear the message which they brought. 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



295 



Then the second of the captains spake thus 
to them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus 
saith the great king, the king of Assyria, 
What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 
Thou sayest (but they are but vain words), 
I have counsel and strength for the wor. 
Now, on whom dost thou trust, that thou 
rebellest against me ? Behold, thou trustest 
on the staff of this bruised reed, even upon 
Egypt, on which, if a man lean, it will go 
into his hand, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh 
king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 

The King of Assyria. 

Now, therefore, give hostages to my lord 
the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee 
two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy 
part to set riders upon them. But if thou 
canst not, then how wilt thou drive away even 
one captain of the least of my master's ser- 
vants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots 
and for horsemen ? 

Am I now come up without the Lord 
against this place to destroy it ? Nay ; but 
the Lord said to me, Go up against this land, 
and destroy it. 

Then said Eliakim and his fellows to the 
messenger of the king of Assyria, Speak to 
thy servants in the Syrian language ; for we 
understand it : and talk not with us in the 
Jews' language, so that the people on the 
wall can hear. 

But he answered, Hath my master sent me 
to thy master and to thee to speak these 
words ? Hath he not sent me to the men 
that sit on the wall, whom ye will cause to 
die of hunger and of thirst with you. 

Then he turned and cried to the people 
with a loud voice in the Jews' language, 
saying, Hear the words of the great king, 
the king of Assyria : Thus saith the king, 
Let not Hezekiah deceive you ; for he shall 
not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 



Neither let him make you trust in the Lord, 
saying, The Lord will surely deliver us ; and 
this city shall not be delivered into the hand 
of the king of Assyria. 

Hearken not to Hezekiah, but hearken to 
the words of the great king : Make peace 
with me, and come out to me from behind 
your walls, and then eat every man of his 
own vine and his own fig-tree, and drink the 
waters of his own' cistern ; till I come and 
take you away to a land like your own land, 
a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and 
vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, 
that ye may live and not die ; and hearken 
not to Hezekiah when he would persuade 
you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. 

But the people held their peace, and 
answered him not a word: for the king's 
commandment was, Answer him not. 

Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah came 
to Hezekiah, with their clothes rent, and told 
him the words of the Assyrians. 

"Be not Afraid." 

And when Hezekiah heard them he rent 
his clothes, and covered himself with sack- 
cloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 
And he sent Eliakim and Shebna and the 
elders of the priests to Isaiah the prophet the 
son of Amoz. And they said unto him, 
Thus saith Hezekiah, This is a day of 
trouble, and chastisement, and reproach : for 
we are come to extremity, and there is none 
to help. It may be that the Lord thy God 
will hear all the words of the captain whom 
the king of Assyria his master hath sent to 
reproach the living God : and will punish 
him for the words which the Lord thy God 
hath heard : wherefore lift up thy prayer for 
the remnant that are left. 

Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to 
your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not 
afraid of the words which thou hast heard 



296 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



with which the servants of the king of Assy- 
ria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put 
a new spirit, even a spirit of fear, in him, and 
he shall hear evil tidings, and he shall return 
to his own land ; and I will cause him to fall 
by the sword in his own land. 

Then the messengers of Sennacherib 



Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of 
Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying 
them utterly ; and shalt thou be delivered ? 
These words did Sennacherib write in a 
letter, and sent it by the hands of his 
messengers to Hezekiah. And Hezekiah 
received it from them, and read it ; and he 




THE VISION OF THE 

returned to their master, and found him war- 
ring against Libnah. Then, because he 
heard that Tirhakah was near at hand, he 
sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 
Let not thy God in whom thou trustest 
deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be 
delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 



PROPHET ISAIAH. 

went up into the house of the Lord, and hfi 
spread the letter before the Lord. 

And he prayed before the Lord, and said, 
O Lord God of Israel, that dwellest between 
the cherubim, Thou art the God, even thou 
alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou 
hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow 



TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 



297 



down thine ear, and hear : open, Lord, thine 
eyes, and see ; and hear the words wherewith 
Sennacherib hath reproached the living God. 
Of a truth, the kings have destroyed the 
nations and their lands, and have cast their 
gods into the fire ; for they were no gods, 
but the work of men's hands, wood and stone ; 
therefore have the kings of Assyria destroyed 
them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I 
beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, 
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know 
that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. 

An Angel Smites the Assyrians. 

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to 
Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God 
of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to 
me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I 
have heard. 

And that night the Angel of the Lord 



went out and smote in the camp of the 
Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five 
thousand ; and when they that were left 
arose early in the morning, behold, all their 
comrades were dead men. 

So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, 
and returned to Nineveh, and dwelt there. 

And as he was worshipping in the house 
of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and 
Sharezer his sons smote him with the edge 
of the sword ; and they escaped into the land 
of Armenia. 

And Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in his 
glory. He saw the Child whose name was 
Wonderful and the wise men of the East 
bringing their gifts and bowing down before 
him. He saw the Son of Man bearing his 
cross, and then his triumph over his enemies. 
The dragon of sin was slain, and on earth 
there was peace and good will. 




CHAPTER XXII. 



B. C. 605. 

The Story of Daniel — Captivity of the Jews — Three Hebrew Youths — The King's 
Great Image — The Fiery Furnace — Handwriting on the Wall — Weighed and 
Found Wanting — Daniel's Enemies — In the Den of Lions — A Remarkable Vision; 




HE Israelites were divided into 
two kingdoms. Those who 
always had one of David's 
family for their king were 
called Jews, and only the 
other part of the nation were 
called Israelites. Both the 
Jews and the Israelites were constantly dis- 
obeying God and -turning away from him. 
We must not write these histories otherwise 
than as they are in the Bible, and after all 
it would never do to suppose that there are 
only good people in the world. Both the 
Jews and the Israelites did many bad things. 
Again and again they built altars to worship 
false gods. 

At last that thing happened to them which 
Moses had long ago told them would happen 
if they persisted in disobeying God. Their 
enemies came and destroyed their towns, 
and threw down their houses, and carried 
the people away into a strange land. This 
happened first to the Israelites, and they 
have never yet come back again to their 
own land. 

Capture of Jerusalem. 

Afterwards, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Baby- 
lon, came to Jerusalem and surrounded it 
with his soldiers. They broke down the 
walls of Jerusalem, and took it, and killed 
great numbers of the people. They also 
pulled down the beautiful temple, and carried 
298 



off all the gold and the silver and the pre- 
cious things that were found in it. 

All the people who were not killed were 
carried away captives to Babylon. The 
wicked king who was then reigning in Jeru- 
salem was also taken prisoner ; and Nebu- 
chadnezzar chained him with iron chains, and 
put him into a prison in Babylon. But the 
costly vessels of gold and silver that he had 
taken out of the temple, these Nebuchad- 
nezzar brought into the house of his god. 

The land that God had given to his people 
was now waste and desolate, with its towns 
all destroyed, and hardly any people left in 
it. And the Jews were told by their prophets 
that they must live in Babylon for seventy- 
years. 

When Nebuchadnezzar was come to Baby 
Ion with all these captives, he desired one 
of his officers to choose from among them a 
certain number of youths who were hand- 
some and clever, and who were already good 
scholars, that they might be trained for three 
years in the king's palace, and learn every- 
thing that the wisest men in Babylon could 
teach them. 

At the end of the three years the king 
meant to have these young men brought into 
his presence, that they might be always near 
him, to tell him anything he wanted to 
know. 

The king ordered that these youths should 
be fed with the same food and wine that were 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



served at his own table. This food and wine 
were of the best and costliest kind, you may 
be sure; but before being placed on the 
king's table, a portion of the food was offered 



299 

who resolved that he would not sin against 
God by eating the king's meat, for which 
the idols had been thanked. This young 
man's name was Daniel. He therefore asked 




THE JEWS LED INTO CAPTIVITY. 



to his false gods, and every one who ate of 
it was considered to be thanking those gods 
for his food and drink. 

There was one of those Jewish youths 



the officer who took care of them not to give 
him and his three companions any of the 
king's meat and wine. 

This officer liked Daniel, and he wished 



300 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



to please him ; but he was afraid of the king. 
He said that if the king saw the youths who 
were under his care looking thin and poorly- 
fed, he would be angry with him, and per- 
haps order his head to be cut off; for those 
kings of Babylon thought very little of cut- 
ting off the heads of people who displeased 
them. 

Thrived on Pulse and Water. 

Daniel said, Try us for ten days : during 
that time give us nothing but pulse and 
water; then judge if we look any worse than 
those who have been eating the kng's meat 
After that, do as you think best about it 

The officer consented, and at the end of 
the ten days these four young men were 
fairer and fatter than those who had been 
fed from the king's table. After that they 
were not asked to eat any more of the king's 
meat, but every day they got pulse and water. 

Pulse means such things as dried beans 
or peas — not a very nice kind of food, and 
people would get very tired of it if they never 
ate anything else, especially when there 
were all sorts of dainties to be had for the 
asking. 

It is better, however, to eat coarse food 
than to disobey God. These Jewish youths 
knew that ; and God gave them better things 
than the dainties they had refused for his 
sake. He gave them wisdom and knowledge, 
and great skill in learning those things 
which they were taught. 

At the end of the three years, when they 
were brought before the king, he found them 
wiser than all their teachers. Not only had 
they learned all that the wise men of Babylon 
could teach them, but God himself had 
taught them. God made Daniel his prophet, 
and showed him many things that were to 
happen at a future time. 

One night King Nebuchadnezzar had a 



dream which troubled him. He felt sure 
that it had a meaning, and he sent for the 
wise men of Babylon to tell him what the 
meaning of the dream was. They said, O 
king, tell your servants the dream, and we 
will tell you the meaning of it. 

Nebuchadnezzar answered, I have for- 
gotten it; therefore you must tell me the 
dream and the meaning too. If you tell 
me what the dream was, then I shall believe 
that you know the meaning, and I will give 
you rewards and great honor. If you can- 
not tell me the dream, I don't believe you 
can tell the meaning of it ; you are only liars 
who pretend to know what is going to 
happen, and you shall be cut in pieces, and 
your houses shall be thrown down. 

The wise men answered, There is no one 
in the world who could tell what you ask ; 
only the gods could answer such a question. 
No king ever before required his wise men 
to tell him anything like that. Nebuchad- 
nezzar was angry and very furious, and 
commanded that all the wise men in Babylon, 
should be put to death. 

He Knew the Secret. 

Some of the king's guards were sent to 
take Daniel and his companions, that they 
too might be put to death. But Daniel said 
that if the king would give him a little time,, 
he would tell him all he wanted to know. 
The king consented to this ; and Daniel and 
his three companions prayed to God to show 
them this secret, so that they might not all 
be destroyed. 

That night God showed his prophet Daniel 
the king's dream and the meaning of it. 
Daniel thanked God and praised him. Then 
he asked to be brought before the king. 

Nebuchadnezzar asked him, Are you able 
to tell me the dream that I had, and the 
meaning of it? Daniel answered, There is 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



301 



a God in heaven who knows everything, and 
he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar by a 
dream what is going to happen in the world. 

Then he told the king what he had seen 
in his dream. When he came to tell the 
meaning of it, it was all about things that 
should happen in the world years and years 
after the people then living had passed away. 

When Nebuchadnezzar had heard Daniel 
tell the dream and its wonderful meaning, 
he said, Truly your God is a God of gods, 
and a Lord of kings, and One who knows 
all secrets. He has shown you this secret. 
The king gave Daniel great gifts, and made 
him ruler over the affairs of Babylon, and 
head of all the wise men. 

Would Not Serve False Gods. 

Daniel's three companions were also made 
great men. Their names were Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abed-nego. You shall now 
hear something that happened to them. 

Nebuchadnezzar made a great image of 
gold, and set it up in a plain near Babylon. 
He called together all the great men of his 
kingdom to the place where the golden image 
was set up. There a man read to them in a 
loud voice the order that the king had given. 
It was this : Unto you it is commanded, O 
people, that as soon as you hear a band 
playing upon all kinds of instruments of 
music, you shall all at that moment fall 
down and worship the golden image that 
Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. And 
whoever does not fall down and worship it 
shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery 
furnace. 

Nebuchadnezzar's lords and great men, 
when they heard the band of music, fell 
down and worshipped, as the king had com- 
-manded — all except those Jews who would 
-worship God only. 

Then some people came to Nebuchadnez- 



zar and said, O king, there are certain Jews 
whom you have made rulers over your 
affairs — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; 
these men have not obeyed you. They do 
not serve your gods, nor worship your 
golden image. 

Nebuchadnezzar, in a great rage, sent for 
those men, and asked them if what he had 
heard of them was true. And he said, If 
you will not obey me, you shall be thrown 
into a burning fiery furnace ; and what God 
is there who can save you out of that? 

They answered, O Nebuchadnezzar, our 
God whom we serve is able to save us out 
of the furnace, and he will deliver us out of 
your hand, O king. But if not, yet we will 
not serve your gods, nor worship your 
golden image. 

Cast into the Fiery Furnace. 

Then Nebuchadnezzar was very furious, 
for people rarely dared to speak to him in 
this way. He commanded that the furnace 
should be heated seven times hotter than 
usual, and that those three men should be 
cast into it. 

The strongest soldiers in the king's army 
bound Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 
and threw them into the midst of the burn- 
ing fiery furnace. The flame was so fierce 
that the soldiers were killed by the great 
heat. But God's servants were not killed, 
nor hurt at all, though they had been cast 
into the midst of it. 

After they had been thrown in, the king 
rose up frightened and astonished, and he 
said, Did we not cast three men bound into 
the furnace? But now I see four men, loose 
and unhurt, walking in the midst of the fur- 
nace, and the fourth man is grand and beau- 
tiful like a god. 

Going to the door of the burning fiery 
furnace, he cried out, Shadrach, Meshach. 



302 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high 
God, come forth, and come here ! 

Then those three men came out from the 
midst of the fire, and the king and all his 
lords saw that they had not been hurt; there 
was not a hair of their heads singed, and 
dieir clothes were not scorched. 
' And Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the 



and his house shall be pulled down ; for there 
is no other God that can save like this. 

After this the king gave Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abed-nego greater honors 
than they had before enjoyed. 

Some time after Nebuchadnezzar was dead 
his grandson Belshazzar was king of 
Babylon. Though Nebuchadnezzar had 




DANIEL REFUSING TO 

God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; 
for he has sent his angel, and saved his 
servants who trusted in him, and who gave 
their bodies to be burned, rather than wor- 
ship any god except their own God. There- 
fore I make a law, that if any one speak 
against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego, that man shall be cut in pieces, 



WORSHIP THE IMAGE. 

learned before he died that all the earth 
belongs to God, and that there is nothing so 
good as to serve and obey him, and all the 
people in Babylon had heard how God had 
taught him that lesson, yet Belshazzar cared 
nothing at all about the matter. Indeed, he 
cared very little for anything, except eating: 
and drinking and making merry- 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



SOS 



He was not even a good soldier, as Nebu- 
chadnezzar had been ; and when a great 
army of his enemies- surrounded Babylon, 
and were trying with all their might to get 
into it, he went on feasting more than ever, 
for he said no enemy could ever break into 
the great city of Babylon, whose walls were 
so high and strong. 

Fire on the Wall. 

One night, when he had made a feast for 
his lords and his princes, he sent for those 
vessels of gold and silver that had been holy 
vessels in God's temple at Jerusalem. 

When these had been brought, the wicked 
Belshazzar and all his gay lords and ladies 
drank wine out of them ; and as they drank 
they praised their idols that were made of 
gold and of silver, and of brass and wood 
and stone. 

In the midst of this wicked feasting Bel- 
shazzar's face grew pale, and he trembled 
with fear ; for on the wall opposite him he 
saw fingers writing some strange mysterious 
words of which he knew not the meaning. 

Then he cried aloud to his lords to bring 
in the wise men of Babylon, that they might 
tell him what those terrible words meant. 
Whoever reads them, said he, shall be dressed 
in scarlet, and have a chain of gold about 
his neck, and be made the third ruler in the 
kingdom. The wise men came, but they could 
not read the writing on the wall, nor tell at 
all what it meant ; and the king and all his 
lords were more terrified than ever, and 
cared nothing now for their feasting. 

Then the queen said, O king, let not this 
trouble you. There is a man in your king- 
dom who can read the words — a man in 
whom was found such wisdom and know- 
ledge that Nebuchadnezzar, your grand- 
father, made him ruler over all the wise men 
in Babylon. Let him be called. 



Daniel was therefore brought in, and the 
king told him that if he could read that writ- 
ing, and tell the meaning of it, then he should 
be clothed in scarlet, and have a gold chain 
about his neck, and be the third ruler in 
Babylon. 

Daniel Tells the Meaning. 

Daniel answered, Let your gifts remain 
with you, and give your rewards to another. 
Yet I will read what is written, and tell you 
the meaning of it. 

O king, the most high God made Nebu- 
chadnezzar a very great king, and gave him 
power over many people ; but he taught him 
to know that God rules all kingdoms, and 
sets whom he pleases over them. And you, 
O Belshazzar, though you knew all that hap- 
pened to your grandfather, and all that God 
taught him, you have not humbled your 
heart, but have lifted yourself up against the 
Lord of heaven ; and they have brought the 
vessels of his house to your feast, and you 
have drunk wine out of them. And you 
have praised your gods of silver and gold, 
and brass and iron, and wood and stone, 
which see not, nor hear, nor know ; and the 
God in whose hand your life is you have not 
worshipped. Therefore he sent this hand 
which wrote the words that you have seen. 

Daniel then read those strange and ter- 
rible words, and said, The meaning of the 
words is this : God has brought your kingdom 
to an end. You are weighed in the balances, 
and are found wanting. God has divided 
your kingdom, and given it to your enemies. 

When Daniel had said this the king made 
his lords clothe him in scarlet and put a 
golden chain on his neck, and declare that he 
was the third greatest man in the kingdom. 

That night the enemy's army got into the 
strong proud city, and Belshazzar was killed, 
and a king called Darius took the kingdom 




304 



DANIEL INTERPRETING THE KINGS DREAM. 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



305 



of Babylon for his own. King Darius soon 
found out that Daniel was the wisest and 
best man in his kingdom, and he made much 
of him accordingly. When he set princes 
over the different parts of his great kingdom, 
he gave Daniel authority over them all. 

Those princes envied Daniel, and tried to 
find some fault in him, that they might com- 
plain of him to the king. But they could 
find none; and they said to one another, We 
shall not find anything to say against Daniel, 
unless it be something about worshipping 
his God. 

They knew that Daniel prayed to God 
three times every day. He used to kneel 
down in his chamber with his face turned 
towards Jerusalem; for though it was many, 
many miles away, and he had not seen it since 
he was very young, he knew that God had 
promised to bring the Jews back again to 
their old home at the end of seventy years, 
and it comforted him to say his prayers 
looking towards the place where God's 
house had been. 

A Plot Against Daniel. 

Daniel's enemies therefore made this plan 
to get him into trouble: they asked King 
Darius to make a law that for thirty days 
no one in the kingdom should make prayer 
to any God or man except to the king; and 
that if any one should ask anything from 
any other god or man, he should be thrown 
into the den of lions. 

Darius was foolish enough to consent to 
this law. When he had signed it and sealed 
it he could not alter it for any one; for it 
was a rule with these people that when the 
king made a law it couid not be altered. 

Daniel, however, prayed to God just the 

same as before. As he did so his enemies 

saw him kneeling in his chamber with the 

windows open that looked towards Jerusa- 

20 



lem; and they told the king, and said, 
Daniel, who is one of these captive Jews, 
does not obey you, O king. He does not 
mind the law that you have made. He 
prays to his God three times every day. 

When the king heard this he was very 
sorry for having made that law. He loved 
Daniel greatly; he was so wise and useful, 
and so faithful to him. 

Thrown to the Lions. 

All that day he tried to find some way of 
saving him; but the princes reminded him 
that he could not alter a law which he had 
made. Then he commanded that Daniel 
should be thrown into the den of lions, and 
he said to him, Your God whom you serve 
continually will save you. 

Daniel was therefore thrown in among the 
fierce lions, and a great stone was laid on 
the mouth of the den. The king sealed the 
stone with his own seal, which might not be 
broken without his leave. 

Then King Darius returned to his palace. 
But he ate no food that evening, neither 
would he have any music played for him, 
nor could he fall asleep all that night. 

Early in the morning he went to the 
mouth of the lions' den, and called to 
Daniel; and his voice was sad as he called, 
for he feared that Daniel was not alive to 
answer. He said, O Daniel, servant of the 
living God, is your God, whom you serve 
continually, able to save you from the lions? 

Daniel replied from within the den, O 
king, live for ever. My God has sent his 
angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, that 
they have not hurt me; for he knows I have 
not sinned, neither have I done any wrong 
to you, O king. 

Darius was glad, and commanded them to 
take Daniel out of the den. No hurt was 
found upon him, for God in whom he 




DANIEL TOUCHED BY THE ANGEL. 



306 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



30? 



trusted had taken care of him. Then the 
king commanded that the men who had 
plotted against Daniel should be thrown 
into the den. 

Those kings of Babylon were fierce and 
£ruel ; and though Darius was not so bad as 
many, yet he was not satisfied to punish the 
offenders only, as all kings should, but he 
ordei ed their families also to be thrown to 
the lions. The lions sprang upon them and 
tore them in pieces, and devoured them, 
before they reached the bottom of the den. 

Then King Darius wrote a letter and sent 
it to all the countries that he ruled over. 
And this was in the letter that he wrote : 

I make a law, That in every part of my 
kingdom men shall tremble and fear before 
the God of Daniel ; for he is the living God, 
and remains for ever. His kingdom shall 
not be destroyed, and he shall rule for ever. 
He delivers and saves ; he works signs and 
wonders in the earth ; and he has saved 
Daniel from the strength of the lions. 

After that Daniel prospered during all the 
days of Darius, and also in the days of the 
king who came after him. 

Daniel's Vision. 

The king who reigned after Darius sent 
many of the Jews back to their own land, 
and bade them build again the temple of 
God at Jerusalem. He gave them back 
those vessels of silver and gold that had 
been taken out of the temple by Nebuchad- 
nezzar. 

After this Daniel had a vision. He was 
by the side of the great river Hidde-kel, 
when he lifted up his eyes and saw a certain 
man clothed in linen whose loins were 
girded with fine gold. His body was like 
bery] ; and his face had the appearance of 
lightning ; his eyes were as lamps of fire, 
and his arms and feet like in color to polished 



brass, and his voice was like the voice of a 
multitude. 

Daniel alone saw the vision, but a great 
quaking came upon the men that were with 
him, and they fled to hide themselves. Flis 
strength forsook him, and his comeliness 
was turned into corruption. At the sound 
of the voice he fell into a deep sleep. 

Theo a hand touched him. The voice 
told him that he was greatly beloved, and he 
was to stand upright and hear the message 
that was brought to him. While he stood 
trembling the voice told him to fear not 
and that now he was to understand what 
would befall his people in the latter day? 
He set his face toward the ground and 
became dumb. And one like the sons of 
men touched his lips. Now he spoke and 
said he had no strength remaining in him. 

Then there came again and touched him 
one like the appearance of a man, strength- 
ened him and said, O man greatly beloved, 
fear not : peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, 
be strong. At this Daniel was strengthened 
and said, Let my lord speak. Then said he^ 
I will show thee that which is noted in the 
scripture of truth. 

What Shall Come to Pass. 

Then said Daniel, I in the first year of 
Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm 
and to strengthen him. And now will I 
shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall 
stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the 
fourth shall be far richer than they all : and 
by his strength through his riches he shall 
stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 

And a mighty king shall stand up, that 
shall rule with great dominion, and do 
according to his will And when he shall 
stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and 
shall be divided toward the four winds of 
heaven ; and not to his posterity, nor accord- 



808 



THE STORY OF DANIEL. 



ing to his dominion which he ruled : for his 
kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others 
beside those. 

And the king of the south shall be strong, 
and one of his princes; and he shall be 
strong above him, and have dominion; his 
dominion shall be a great dominion. And 
in the end of years they shall join themselves 
together: for the king's daughter of the 
south shall come to the king of the north 
to make an agreement: but she shall not 
retain the power of the arm; neither shall 
he stand, nor his arm: but she shall he 
given up, and they that brought her, and hfe 
that begat her, and he that strengthened her 
in these times. 

A Great Army. 

But out of a branch of her roots shall one 
stand up in his estate, which shall come with 
an army, and shall enter into the fortress of 
the king of the north, and shall deal against 
them, and shall prevail : and shall also carry 
captives into Egypt their gods, with their 
princes, and with their precious vessels of 
silver and of gold; and he shall continue 
more years than the king of the north. So 
the king of the south shall come into his 
kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 

But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall 
assemble a multitude of great forces: and 
one shall certainly come, and overflow, and 
pass through : then shall he return, and be 
stirred up, even to his fortress. 

And the king of the south shall be moved 
with choler, and shall come forth and fight 
with him, even with the king of the north : 
and he shall set forth a great multitude; but 
the multitude shall be given into his hand. 

And when he hath taken away the multi- 
tude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he 
shall cast down many ten thousands : but 
he shall not be strengthened by it. For the 



king of the north shall return, and shall set 
forth a multitude greater than the former, and 
shall certainly come after certain years with 
a great army and with much riches. 

And in those times there shall many stand 
up against the king of the south ; also the 
robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves 
to establish the vision ; but they shall fall. 

So the king of the north shall come, and 
cast up a mount, and take the most fenced 
cities ; and the arms of the south shall not 
withstand, neither his chosen people, neither 
shall there be any strength to withstand. 

But he that cometh against him shall do 
according to his own will, and none shall 
stand before him : and he shall stand in the 
glorious land, which by his hand shall be 
consumed. He shall also set his face to 
enter with the «* rength of his whole kingdom, 
and upright ones with him; thus shall he 
do: an J he shall give him the daughter of 
womeft, corrupting her; but she shall not 
stand on his side, neither be for him. 

They Shall do Mischief. 

After this shall he turn his face unto the 
isles, and shall take many : but a prince for 
his own behalf shall cause the reproach 
offered by him to cease; without his own 
reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. 
Then he shall turn his face toward the fort 
of his own land : but he shall stumble and 
fall, and not be found. 

Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser 
of taxes in the glory of the kingdom : but 
within few days he shall be destroyed, 
neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his 
estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom 
they shall not give the honor of the kingdom. 

So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius 
and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. And 
he died, being more than four score and ten 
years old. 




THORNS IN THE FIELD OF THE SLOTHFUL, 



309 



B 



E GASTETH 
FORTH 



IS ICE 

Like 



ELS 




PS. 1 47- 17. 



OLD 2 



" SUMMER AND WINTER SHALL NOT CEASE." 



310 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

B. C. 536. 

Return from the Captivity — Rebuilding the Temple — King Darius — Ezra Arrived 
at Jerusalem — Too Much Wickedness — Wives Taken from the Heathen — Arrival 
of Nehemiah — -The Walls Rebuilt — The Enemy Thwarted — Ezra Reads the Law — 
Story of Queen Esther — A Great Feast — Queen Vashti — The Jews in Danger — 
Haman's Wicked Plot — Esther Saves her People — Haman Hanged. 




|YRUS, king of Persia, when he 
had taken the city of Babylon, 
made proclamation throughout 
all his kingdom to this purpose: 
The Lord God of heaven hath 
given me all the kingdoms of 
the earth, and hath commanded me to build 
him a house at Jerusalem. Let all, therefore, 
that are of his people go up to Jerusalem 
and take their part in the building of this 
house. I command also that their neighbors 
help them with money and goods and beasts 
for their journey, even as I myself have 
made a freewill-offering for this house. 

Then many of the Jews went up to Jeru- 
salem, and Cyrus gave into their hands the 
vessels of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the 
king had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and 
put into the house of his gods. They that 
went up were forty-three thousand and 
upwards, and they had of men-servants and 
maid-servants seven thousand and nine, and 
two hundred singing men and singing 
women. On the first day of the seventh 
month all the people came together as one 
man to Jerusalem, and the priests and the 
princes built an altar of sacrifice, and began 
the daily sacrifice, morning and evening. 
And on the fifteenth day of this month they 
kept the Feast of Tabernacles, according to 
the ordinance. 



After this they began to prepare for the 
building of the temple, hiring masons and 
carpenters with money, and exchanging corn 
and wine and oil for cedar-trees of Lebanon, 
which the Tyrians and Sidonians brought by 
sea to Joppa. In the second month of the 
second year they laid the foundations of the 
temple. 

Trumpets and Cymbals. 

And when they laid them, the priests 
stood in in their robes with trumpets in their 
hands, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, 
with cymbals, praising God in the words of 
King David, as they were sung on the day 
when the ark was taken into the tent which 
David had made for it. And all the people 
shouted with a great shout when the priests 
and the Levites praised the Lord, because 
the foundation of the house of the Lord was 
laid. Nevertheless, certain of the old men, 
who had seen the former house that the 
Chaldeans burnt with fire, wept aloud when 
they saw the foundations laid, because they 
were so small ; aud no man could distin- 
guish the shout of joy from the noise of 
weeping. 

After this the people of Samaria came to 

them that were building the temple, and 

said, Let us build with you ; for we worship 

your God even as ye do : and we have done 

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sacrifice unto him ever since the days of 
Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought 
us hither. 

Now these Samaritans were strangers 
whom the kings of Assyria had brought 
from Babylon and other cities of their 
dominions, and had put in the country from 



build a house to the Lord God of Israel, as 
Cyrus, king of Persia, hath commanded us. 
Then the Samaritans gave bribes to the 
counsellors of the king that they should 
hinder the work. This they did in the days 
of Cyrus and of Cambyses his son, but the 
work was not stopped. 




THE RETURN OF THE 

which the children of the Ten Tribes had 
been carried away captive in the days of 
Hoshea, king of Israel. But Zerubbabel 
and Joshua and the other chief men said to 
them, Ye have nothing to do with us, that 
ye should join in building a house to our 
God ; we ourselves, and none besides us, will 



JEWS FROM CAPTIVITY. 

And when Cambyses was dead, and 
Gomates the Magian reigned in his stead, 
giving out that he was Smerdis, son of 
Cyrus — but, in truth, Smerdis had been slain 
by his brother Cambyses — the governor of the 
province of Samaria wrote a letter to this pur- 
pose: Be it known unto the king that the 



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313 



Jews which came up from thee to us are come 
unto Jerusalem, to build again that bad and 
rebellious city, building the walls and laying 
the foundations. Be it known also unto the 
king that if this city be built and the walls 
set up again, this people will not pay toll, 
tribute or custom, and so will his revenue 
suffer loss. Now it is not meet that we who 
have our livelihood from the king should see 
him so dishonored, and therefore we send 
this to the king that search may be made in 
the records of the kings thy fathers con- 
cerning this people. Of a truth thou shalt 
find in the said record that this was ever a 
rebellious city and hurtful to the king, and 
that for this cause it was destroyed. 

A Wicked Command. 

Now to this letter the false Smerdis made 
this answer : The letter which ye sent was 
read to me. And I commanded that search 
should be made, and it was found that this 
city of old time hath made insurrection, and 
that there have been great kings therein who 
have ruled over all countries westward of the 
river Euphrates, and that toll and tribute 
hath been paid to them. Command there- 
fore that these men cease from their building. 

This letter the false Smerdis wrote, and all 
the more willingly because, being a Magian, 
he would not that any man should worship 
in temples, and the religion of the Jews was 
hateful to him. When the Samaritans 
received this letter they went up to Jeru- 
salem, and made the people cease from their 
building by force. 

But when the false Smerdis was dead, for 
Darius, the son of Hystaspes, slew him and 
reigned in his stead, Haggai and Zechariah, 
who were prophets of the Lord, stirred up 
the chief men of the Jews that they should 
begin again to build the walls and the tem- 
ple. So they began, and when their enemies 



asked, Who hath bidden you to build this 
house and this wall ? They would not cease 
till they should receive a commandment 
from King Darius. 

And when the governor of the province 
saw this he wrote to the king to this pur- 
pose : Be it known unto the king that the 
house of the mighty God in the province of 
Judea is being built with great stones, and 
that the work goeth on fast. And when we 
asked the elders of the people, Who com- 
manded you to do this ? They said, We are 
the servants of the God of heaven and 
earth, and build again his house. Long 
ago a great king of the land built it; but 
when our fathers provoked the God of 
heaven, he gave us into the hand of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, king of Babylon, who destroyed 
this house and carried away the people cap- 
tive. Then in the first year of Cyrus a 
decree was made that we should build this 
house again ; and Cyrus gave us also the 
vessels of gold and silver which Nebuchad- 
nezzar had taken out of the former house. 
So the Jews answered us, Let the king there- 
fore cause search to be made, that he may 
know whether King Cyrus made such a 
decree. 

The Decree Is Found. 

So Darius caused that they should make 
a search for this decree, and they found it in 
the house of the rolls at Egbatana. There- 
upon Darius sent to the governor of the 
province, saying, We have found that it is as 
had been said by the Jews, that Cyrus gave 
commandment that this house should be 
built. Hinder it not therefore, but rather 
help, giving the people that whereof they 
are in need — money from the king's tribute, 
and bullocks and rams for sacrifice, and 
wheat and salt and oil and wine for the food 
of the priests, that they may worship the- 



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God of heaven, and pray for the life of the 
king and his sons. Whosoever shall seek 
to alter this decree which I, Darius, have 
made, let timber be taken out of his house, 
and let him be hanged thereon ; and let his 



year of Darius the king, the temple was 
finished. And after this the people kept 
the Feast of the Passover, according to the 
ordinance, on the fourteenth day of the first 
month. The whole time from the decree o'i 




BUILDING A NEW TEMPLE. 



house be made a dunghill. Thereupon the 
adversaries of the Jews gave help to them 
according to the king's commands, and 
on the third day of the month Adar, 
which is the twelfth month, in the sixth 



King Cyrus, which he made in the year of 
the taking of Babylon, down to the decree 01 
King Darius was two and twenty years 
During this time the house of the Lord wg/«* 
built, and the people worshipped. 



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315 



A long time after these things, in the 
seventh year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 
who was the grandson of King Darius, it 
came into the heart of a certain Ezra to go 
up to his brethren at Jerusalem. This Ezra 
was of the house of Aaron, and he was also 
learned in the law ; and he had found favor 
in the eyes of King Artaxerxes, who gave 
him commission to inquire how the people 
fared at Jerusalem and in the land of the 
Jews. 

Also the king sent by the hand of Ezra 
and his companions freewill-offerings of silver 
and gold, six hundred and fifty talents of 
silver, and a hundred talents of gold, and 
silver vessels of which the value was a hun- 
dred talents, and twenty basons of gold, and 
two vessels of fine brass as precious as gold. 
Also the king commanded that the treasures 
that were beyond the river Euphrates should 
furnish to Ezra a hundred talents of silver, 
and of wheat one thousand bushels, and of 
oil and of wine one hundred gallons of each, 
and of salt as much as he would. 

On the Banks of the River. 

Further, all that were priests or Levites, 
or porters or singers, or did any work what- 
soever in the house of God were to be free of 
tax and tribute. Ezra also was to judge his 
people according to the law of his God, and 
any one that would not obey the law of God 
and of the king should suffer death or confis- 
cation of goods or imprisonment. 

On the first day of the first month Ezra 
went out from Babylon, and in nine days he 
-came to a river that is called Ahava. There 
he abode three days, till the Levites should 
come, for there were none with him. Also 
because there were enemies lying in wait by 
the way, he proclaimed a fast there by the 
river, that they might pray for a safe journey, 
for he was ashamed to require of the king a 



band of soldiers and horsemen to protect 
them against their enemies, seeing that they 
had told the king that the hand of their God 
was upon all that sought him for good, and 
against all them that forsook him. After this, 
on the twelfth day of the first month, they 
departed from Ahava, and came safe to Jeru 
salem on the first day of the fifth month. 

But when Ezra was come to Jerusalem he 
was told that many of the people had taken 
wives for themselves and for their sons of the 
people of the land, of the Canaanites, and of 
the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of 
the Egyptians. And when he heard it he 
rent his garment and his mantle, and plucked 
out the hair of his head and his beard, and 
sat down in sore distress. Thus he remained 
till the time of the evening sacrifice, and all 
the people saw him. 

Ezra's Confession. 

And at the time of the evening sacrifice he 
rose up, and when he had again rent his gar- 
ment and his mantle, he fell upon his knees 
and prayed, saying, O my God, I am 
ashamed to lift up my face to thee, for our 
iniquities have gone over our head and our 
trespass hath provoked thee. Our fathers 
sinned against thee, and thou didst deliver 
them into the hand of the kings of the nations 
round about. And now thou hast showed 
us mercy for a little space, and suffered a 
remnant to escape, giving us favor, though 
we were but bondmen in the eyes of the 
kings of Persia, that we build again the house 
of God and the walls of Jerusalem. And 
now we have sinned yet again in thy sight, 
taking to ourselves wives of the people of the 
land, concerning whom thou didst command 
us, saying, Give not your daughters to their 
sons, neither take their daughters to your 
sons, and seek not peace with them nor to be 
enriched with their wealth ! Now, O Lord 



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we cannot stand before thee because of this 
our sin. 

And when Ezra had ended his confession 
and his prayer he prostrated him upon the 
ground, weeping, and a great multitude of 
men and women had assembled before the 
iemple, and they also wept 

Then one of the princes who had taken 
strange wives stood up, and said, We have 
trespassed against our God in this matter ; 
but yet there is hope, for the people repent 
them of their sin. We will make a covenant 
to put away these strange wives. The matter 
is in thy hands. We will obey thy counsel. 

Heathen "Wives. 

Then Ezra and the princes made a procla- 
mation that all the people should come 
to Jerusalem within three days, and that if 
any man failed so to come, his goods should 
be confiscated. So the people came, and 
Ezra said to them, Ye have transgressed 
against the law of the Lord by taking to 
yourselves wives of the heathen. Now 
therefore separate yourselves from them. 

And the people answered, It is so ; and as 
thou hast said, so must we do. But the 
people that have transgressed are many, and 
this a time of much rain, and we cannot 
remain out of doors ; neither is this a work 
of one day or two. Let there be appointed, 
therefore, a council of rulers and judges at 
Jerusalem, who shall inquire into the matter, 
and bring it to an end. 

And this was done, for the council sat 
from the first day of the tenth month till the 
first of the year following, and so made an 
end wfth all the men that had taken strange 
wives. The number of those that had trans- 
gressed was one hundred and eleven, of whom 
seventeen were priests and ten were Levites. 

But though Ezra and the princes were 
zealous, nevertheless the work languished 



till God raised up a new helper, Nehemiah, 
the son of Hachaliah. This Nehemiah was 
cupbearer to King Artaxerxes; and in the 
twentieth year of the king, Hanani, who was 
his brother, came up from Jerusalem to 
Shushan, and Nehemiah asked him concern- 
ing the Jews that had returned and con- 
cerning Jerusalem. 

A Broken Wall. 

Hanani answered, They of the captivity 
that went up to Jerusalem are in great 
affliction and reproach ; and the wall is, 
broken down, even as Nebuchadnezzar, king 
of Babylon, broke it down, and the gates 
are burned with fire. 

Then Nehemiah fasted, and mourned cer- 
tain days, confessing his sins and the sins of 
his people, and praying to the Lord that he 
would cause him to find mercy in the sight 
of the king, for he was resolved that he 
would speak to him and make a petition for 
his people and his city. In the ninth month, 
he heard the evil news concerning Jerusalem, 
and in the first month, his turn came to serve 
the king. 

And when he took the wine to give it to 
the king, the king saw that he was sad, and 
he had not been before sad in his presence. 
Then the king said, Why is thy countenance 
sad, seeing thou art not sick ? This is 
nothing else but sorrow of heart. Nehemiah 
was sore afraid, for it was held that a Persian 
could not but be glad when he was with the 
king, and that to be sad in his presence was 
a crime. And he said to the king, Let the 
king live for ever! Why should not my 
countenance be sad, when the city, the place 
where my fathers are buried, lieth waste, 
and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 

Then the king said, For what dost thou 
make request? And Nehemiah answered, 
If it please the king, and if I have found 



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317 



iavor in his sight, send me to Judah, to the 
city where my fathers are buried, that I may 
build it. Then the king said — the queen 
sitting by him — For how long shall thy 
journey be? And when wilt thou return? 
And Nehemiah set him a time. 

Also he said, If it please the king, let 
letters be given me to the governors beyond 
the river Euphrates, thit they may convey 
me till I come to the land of Judah ; and a 
letter also to Asaph, the keeper of the king's 
park, that he may give me timber for the 
gates of the fortress of the temple, and for 
the walls of the city, and for my own house. 
All this the king granted to him, God inclin- 
ing his heart to favor his people. 

Nehemiah at Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah set out from Shushan, having 
;an escort of horsemen with him, and, cross- 
ing the Euphrates, showed the king's letter 
to the governors of the province. But San- 
ballat of Beth-horon, who was the chief man 
among the Samaritans, and Tobiah his coun- 
sellor, who was an Ammonite and a slave, 
were grieved exceedingly that there was 
come a man to seek the welfare of the 
■children of Israel. 

So Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, but he 
told no man why he had come. After three 
days he went out by night, riding alone 
upon a mule to see the city. He went out 
by the gate that opens into the valley of 
Hinnom, and turning eastward came to the 
gate by which the refuse was carried forth 
from the city ; and he saw as he went that 
the walls were broken down and the gates 
burnt with fire. 

Thence he went on to the gate that is by 
the pool of Siloam, that is called the King's 
Pool ; but here the beast that he rode could 
not pass. Therefore he went along the 
channel of the brook Kidron, and so 



returned to the gate of the valley of 
Hinnom. But the rulers knew not whithei 
he went, nor what he did, for he had not 
told his errand to any man. 

But the next day he said to them, Ye see 
the distress that we are in, and how Jerusalem 
lieth waste, and the gates are burned with 
fire. Come, let us build up the walls, that 
we be no more a reproach. Then he told 
them how he had found favor with God and 
with the king. 

And they said, Let us rise up and build. 
And they took courage for the work. But 
Sanballat and Tobiah, and with them 
Geshem the Arab — for there were Arabs 
also in Samaria — laughed the Jews to scorn, 
and said, What is this thing that ye do? 
Will ye rebel against the king ? To them 
the Jews answered, The God of heaven will 
prosper us. Therefore we who are his 
servants will arise and build. But ye have 
no portion, nor right, nor memorial in 
Jerusalem. 

Guards with Spears and Swords. 

Then Nehemiah, and the priests, and the 
Levites, and all the people built the wall of 
the city, both the outer wall and the inner — 
that is to say, the wall of the city of David. 

But when Sanballat heard of it he was 
very angry; and he said to his companions, 
What are these feeble Jews doing? Shall 
we suffer them to build in this fashion? 
And Tobiah the Ammonite mocked, saying, 
As for this wall of theirs, if a fox go up on 
it, he shall break it down. 

Nevertheless the Jews persevered with 
their building till the wall had reached to 
the half of its proper height. But Sanballat 
gathered together a company of his own 
people, and of the Ammonites, and Arabs, 
and Philistines, and prepared to come up to 
Jerusalem and hinder the work; and there 




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REBUILDING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM. 



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319 



was great discouragement and fear, for some 
of the people of the city grew weary, and 
the Jews that were in the country near to 
the Samaritans would have taken away those 
whom they had sent to help in the work ; 
and all the while the enemy threatened that 
they would come up, and slay the builders, 
and cause the work to cease. 

Then Nehemiah set guards, with spears 
and swords and bows, on such parts of the 
wall as were low and weak ; and he set 
others where the ground gave them advan- 
tage for defence : and to the nobles and rulers 
and all the people he said, Be not ye afraid of 
them : remember the Lord, for he is great 
and terrible, and fight for your brethren, 
your sons, and your daughters, your wives 
and your houses. 

Both Hands Full. 

From that time forth half the people 
worked at the building of the wall, and the 
other half had spears and shields and bows 
and coats of mail, the rulers standing behind 
them, encouraging them in the work, or 
ready, if there was need, to lead them 
against the enemy. 

Many, indeed, whether they carried the 
stones or laid them in their places, with one 
hand wrought the work, and with the other 
carried his weapon. And the trumpeter 
stood ever by Nehemiah's side, ready to 
sound upon his trumpet; for Nehemiah had 
said to the nobles and the rulers, and the 
rest, of the people, The work is great and 
large, and we are separated upon the wall, 
one far from another. In what place there- 
fore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort 
ye thither unto us; our God shall fight for us. 

So the people labored in the work from 
the rising of the sun till the stars appeared. 
And Nehemiah said, Let none return to his 
own village or city at night ; but let every 



man lodge within Jerusalem that they may 
be a guard at night. And neither Nehemiah 
nor his brethren, nor his servants, nor his 
bodyguard put off their clothes save only 
when they would wash themselves. 

After this there was a murmuring of many 
of the people against their brethren ; for 
some said, We have pledged our children 
that we may get food, and others, We have 
mortgaged our lands, our vineyards, and our 
houses for bread because of the famine, and 
others again, We have borrowed money upon 
our lands and vineyards to pay the king's 
tribute. 

And Nehemiah was very angry when he 
heard these complainings, and he said to the 
nobles, Ye exact usury, every one of his 
brother. As for me, I have to the best of 
my ability redeemed my brethren who had 
been sold to the heathen ; and shall we, who 
are saved, cause them to be sold? Now, 
therefore, I pray you, give back to them 
their lands and their vineyards and their 
oliveyards, and the money that ye have 
taken from them. 

Shakes the Pocket of His Robe. 

The nobles answered Nehemiah, We will 
take nothing from them ; we will do as thou 
sayest. And Nehemiah made them swear, 
calling the priests that they might be wit- 
nesses to the oath. And he shook out the 
pocket of his robe, saying, So God shake out 
every man from his house and from his labor 
that performeth not this promise ; even thus 
be he shaken out and emptied. And all 
the congregation said, Amen. 

And the rich men did as they had 
promised. For twelve years was Nehemiah 
governor of the land, and all that time he 
received nothing ; but the governors that 
were before him had received forty shekels 
of silver day by day. Neither did he take 



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advantage because the people were poor to 
buy land. But every day he fed at his table 
one hundred and fifty of the principal men, 
besides giving entertainment to such as came 
from the countries round about. Every day 



no breach left in them — only the doors were 
not put into the gates — they sent to Nehe- 
miah, saying, Come, let us meet in one of the 
villages of the plain of Ono. This Ono is in 
Benjamin; but they thought to do him a mis- 




NEHEMIAH AND HIS WORKMEN. 



were prepared an ox and six choice sheep 
and fowls ; and once in every ten days his 
cellar was stored with wine. 

When Sanballat and his allies heard that 
the walls were finished, and that there was 



chief. But Nehemiah sent messengers to 
them, saying, I am doing a great work, so 
that I cannot come down ; why should the 
work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down 
to you ? Four times they sent to him, and 



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321 



four times he answered in the same way. 

Then Sanballat sent his servant a fifth time 
with an open letter wherein was written, It 
is reported among the heathen that thou and 
the Jews think to rebel, and that thou 
buildest the wall that thou mayest be their 
king, and that thou hast appointed prophets 
to declare, There is a king in Judah. Now 
all this shall be reported to the king at Shus- 
han. Come, therefore, let us take counsel 
together. But Nehemiah said, There are no 
such things done as thou sayest, but thou 
feignest them out of thine own heart. 

After this Shemaiah said to Nehemiah, 
Come into the house of God, and let us shut 
the doors of the temple, for thine enemies 
will come to slay thee. Yea, in the night 
will they come. 

Now it was not lawful for any man to come 
into the temple, save for the priests and the 
Levites only. So Nehemiah answered, Should 
such a man as I am flee ? Can I go into the 
temple and live ? 

The Wall Built. 

So he perceived that Shemaiah had not 
spoken this of the Lord, but that the enemies 
had hired him to terrify him, and cause him 
to sin, that they might bring an accusation 
against him. And there were others, calling 
themselves prophets, and one Noadiah, a 
prophetess, that spoke in this matter seeking 
to terrify Nehemiah. 

But the wall was finished on the twenty- 
fifth day of the sixth month — that is, in fifty- 
six days from the beginning of the work. 
The compass of the wall was four miles or 
thereabouts, and all the people worked at it, 
being divided into twenty-seven companies. 
Then Nehemiah made Hanani his brother 
governor over the city, and he commanded 
that the gates should not be opened till the 
sun was hot. The city was large ; but the 
21 



people were few, and the houses were not 
built. 

At this time Ezra the scribe came back to 
Jerusalem — for he had been absent while the 
wall was being built — and the people pressed 
him that he would read the book of the 
law. So Ezra stood upon a pulpit of wood 
with the priests about him, and he opened 
the book in the sight of all the people, for 
he was above them all ; and when he opened 
it all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed 
the Lord, the great God ; and all the people 
answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their 
hands ; and they bowed their heads, and 
worshipped the Lord with their faces to the 
ground. 

Feast of Tabernacles. 

Then the Levites explained the words of 
the law to the people ; but these lamented 
when they understood them, for they saw 
how greatly they had transgressed. But 
Nehemiah, and Ezra, and the priests, and 
the Levites said unto them, This day is holy 
to the Lord your God; mourn not, nor 
weep, but go your way, eat the fat, and 
drink the sweet, and send portions to them 
for whom nothing is prepared. Be not ye 
sorry, for the Lord your God is your 
strength. Then the people did as they were 
bid. 

And on the second day the chief of the 
fathers came to Ezra the scribe; and it was 
found that the Lord had commanded Moses 
that on the fifteenth day of the seventh 
month the people should dwell in booths, 
which they should make of branches of 
olive and wild olive, and myrtle and palm, 
and other trees of which the leaves are 
thick. And this the people did, making 
booths, each man for himself, on the roof of 
his house, or in the courtyard, or in the 
courts of the temple, or in the courts that 



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are over against the water-gate and the gate 
of Ephraim. 

Such a Feast of Tabernacles there had 
not been in Israel since the days of Joshua, 
the son of Nun. For seven days they kept 
it, and on the eighth day there was a solemn 
assembly as the Lord ordained. And on 
the twenty-fourth day of this same month 
was there a great fast held, and the children 
of Israel assembled clothed in sackcloth, 



temple ; and would bring the first-fruits of 
their lands, and redeem also the first-born of 
their children, and the first-born of their 
cattle, and bring the tithes duly to the 
Levites. And to this all the princes set 
their seal. 

When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
carried away from Jerusalem Jehoiachim, 
king of Judah, and the principal men of the 
people of the Jews, there was among the 




TWO PAGES OF AN ANCIENT SCROLL OF SCRIPTURES. 



with dust upon their heads. One-fourth part 
of the day they read the law, and for one- 
fourth part they confessed their sins, and 
worshipped the Lord. 

And they made a covenant that they 
would serve him and obey his command- 
ments, wherein they vowed that they would 
not take wives from the people of the land, 
nor buy or sell on the Sabbath day ; and 
that they would pay each the third part of a 
shekel year by year for the service of the 



captives a certain Kish of the tribe of Benja- 
min. This Kish had a son that was named 
Shimei. In Shimei's time Cyrus, king of 
Persia, came up against Babylon and took it, 
and carried away to the land of Persia many 
of the Jews, of whom Shimei was one. Tg 
Shimei was born a son Jair, and to Jair again 
a son Mordecai, who, growing to man's 
estate, was made a doorkeeper in the king's 
palace in Shushan, which the Greeks called 
Susa, 



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323 



With this Mordecai there lived a maiden, 
the daughter of his father's brother, who 
had been left an orphan in her childhood. 
The maiden's name, in the language of her 
own people, was Hadassah, which word 
means Myrtle ; but in the Persian tongue it 
was Esther, which is by interpretation a Star. 

In those days Ahasuerus, whom the 
Greeks called Xerxes, was king of Persia, a 
very great and powerful prince, who reigned 
over one hundred and twenty-seven prov- 
inces. He ruled all Asia westward as far 
as the Great Sea (which is the Mediterran- 
ean) and eastward as far as the land of 
India ; Egypt also was subject to him, and 
Cyrene and Barca, cities of the Greeks which 
lay westward of Egypt towards the Great 
Desert; and the Ethiopians, who dwelt to 
the south of Egypt paid tribute to him. 

A Magnificent Feast. 

Having so much, he desired to have yet 
more, and to conquer the land of Greece. 
To this end he called together to his palace 
in Shushan the governors of all his prov- 
inces, that he might consult with them, 
and that each might know what preparation 
he should make in men or horses or ships. 
These councils were held for the space of a 
hundred and eighty days, for some of the 
governors came from very far away. 

And when they were ended the king made 
a great feast to all the people in Shushan. 
In the garden of the palace he made it ; and 
the guests sat under awnings of white and 
green and blue, which were stretched from 
pillars of marble on cords of fine white 
linen and purple running through rings of 
silver. The couches on which they lay at 
meat were of silver and gold, and the pave- 
ment of the banqueting-hall was stone of 
many colors, green and pearl-colored and 
white and black. 



They drank out of cups of gold, and all 
the cups were of different patterns ; every 
man drank according to his own pleasure, 
none compelling him to drink less or more, 
for the king had commanded that it should 
be so. And Vashti, the queen, at the same 
time, made a great feast for the women of 
Shushan in the chambers of the women in 
the king's palace. 

Thus they feasted for seven days ; and on 
the seventh day the king, having drunk 
deep, commanded his chamberlains to bring 
Vashti the queen, with her crown upon her 
head, before the princes and the people to 
show them her beauty, for she was very fair 
to look upon. 

She Refuses to Come. 

But the Queen Vashti, when the chamber- 
lains brought her the king's commandment, 
refused to come. Thereat Ahasuerus was 
very angry ; and he called his counsellors, 
the seven princes of Media and Persia, who 
were the first in his kingdom, and who could 
come freely into his presence, and said unto 
them (for they were wise men, and knew the 
laws and customs of the land), What shall 
we do to Queen Vashti, according to the law 
for that she has refused to obey the com- 
mandment which the king sent her by his 
chamberlains ? 

Then Memucan, who was one of the seven 
princes, answered before the king and princes, 
Vashti the queen has done wrong not to the 
king only, but to all the princes and to all 
the people that are in the provinces of the 
king. For her deed will become known 
to all the women of the land, and when 
they shall hear how King Ahasuerus com- 
manded Vashti the queen to be brought 
before him, and she refused to come, they 
will despise their husbands, and will speak to 
the princes of Persia and Media as Vashti 



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has spoken to the king. Therefore, if it 
please the king, let there go forth a royal 
commandment that Vashti be no longer 
queen, and let this be written among the laws 
Df the Medes and Persians, so that it be not 
changed ; and further let her royal estate be 
given to another that shall be better than she. 
This counsel pleased the king and his 



end Esther, that was the cousin of Mordecal 
the Jew, was chosen, and the royal crown 
was set upon her head. And Ahasuerus 
loved her greatly, and made a feast in her 
honor to all his princes and servants, and 
gave remission of taxes to the provinces, and 
sent gifts to their governors. 

About this time two of the chamberlains 




princes, and he sent a decree into every 
province of his dominion, written in the 
language of its inhabitants, that every man 
should be the master in his own house. 

After this a search was made throughout 
the kingdom for the maiden that should be 
worthiest, for beauty and favor, to be put 
into the place of Queen Vashti, and in the 



QUEEN ESTHER CROWNED. 

of Ahasuerus took offence, ana combined 
against him, and would have slain him, for 
they kept the door, and had access to the 
king's person. But the thing came to the 
knowledge of Mordecai, and Mordecai told it 
to Esther the queen, and Esther told it to 
the king. Thereupon inquiry was made, and 
the plot was discovered, and the conspirators 



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325 



put to death. All this was written in the 
chronicles of Persia, how these men had 
conspired against the king, and how the 
matter had been discovered by Mordecai. 

After these things the king promoted a 
certain Haman to be his chief minister, and 
set him above all the princes, and commanded 
that all the king's servants should do him 
reverence as he came in and out, prostrating 
themselves on the ground before him. And 
they all did so save Mordecai only, but he 
refused. 

All the Jews in Danger. 

And when his fellows asked him, Why do 
you not pay reverence to the Lord Haman 
according to the king's commandment? He 
answered, Because I am a Jew, and it is not 
the custom of the Jews to do such honor to 
men. When they heard this, they told it to 
Haman, desiring to see whether he would 
I hold Mordecai to be excused. But Haman 
1 was full of wrath, and was minded not to slay 
Mordecai only — for that seemed too small a 
thing for him to do — but all the people of 
Mordecai throughout the whole dominions of 
the king, for he knew that he was a Jew. 

When he had determined upon this he set 
himself to find out a lucky day for the doing 
of it. So his servants threw dice before him 
every day from the beginning of the first 
month to the end of the twelfth, and the day 
on which the throws were highest throughout 
the year was judged to be the most lucky. 
On this day, therefore, Haman said to the 
king, There is a people dispersed throughout 
the king's dominions in all the provinces. 
They have laws that are different from the 
laws of all other nations, and they do not 
obey the commandments of the king. There- 
fore it is not to the king's profit to suffer 
them. If it please the king, let a decree go 
forth that this people be destroyed, and I will 



pay ten thousand talents of silver into the 
hands of the collectors of the king's revenues 
that they may pay it into the treasuries of 
the king. This was more than ten million 
dollars. 

The Day of Massacre Appointed. 

The king thereupon gave his ring to 
Haman, saying, The people are given to 
you to do as you will with them, and their 
goods also. Then the royal scribes were 
brought in, who wrote letters to the gov- 
ernors of all the provinces with the king's 
command that on a certain day they should 
cause all the Jews — men, women and chil- 
dren — to be slain. 

These letters were written on the thirteenth 
day of the first month, and the same day 
they were given to swift runners, who, having 
carried them a day's journey, handed them 
to other runners, and these again to others, 
till they reached the appointed place. And 
because to some of the provinces there was 
a journey of many weeks, the day appointed 
for the slaughter was the thirteenth day of 
the twelfth month, being nearly the space of 
a year. 

This matter of the letters being finished, 
the king and Haman sat down to drink, but 
the whole city of Shushan was troubled when 
it was known what the king had decreed. 
Then Mordecai the Jew rent his clothes, and 
put sackcloth on his skin, and sprinkled ashes 
on his head, and sat down before the gate of 
the king's palace, and cried as he sat with a 
very loud and bitter cry. But beyond the 
gate he could not go, for no man that had 
any sign of mourning upon him might enter 
the palace, lest he should give offence to the 
eyes of the king. 

Thereupon the maidens that waited upon 
Queen Esther and her chamberlains told her, 
Thy kinsman Mordecai sits before the gate 



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of the palace lamenting, with sackcloth and 
^shes on him. 

Then the queen was exceedingly grieved, 
and she sent raiment wherewith to clothe 
Mordecai, and bade her people take away his 
sackcloth from him. But he would not 
receive the raiment or put off his sackcloth. 
Then she sent her principal chamberlain, one 
Hatach, whom the king himself had 
appointed to wait upon her, and bade him 
inquire of Mordecai what was the matter 
that troubled him. 

So Hatach went forth into the open space 
that was before the king's palace and said to 
Mordecai, What troubles you ? Then Mor- 
decai said, The king has commanded that all 
the Jews throughout his dominions should 
be slain, and Haman has promised that if 
this be done, he will pay into the king's 
treasury ten thousand talents of silver. 

And he gave him a copy of the decree to 
show to the queen, and said, Bid her go 
unto the king, and make supplication to him, 
and pray him that he will spare her people, 
And Hatach came and told Esther the 
word of Mordecai. 

Esther's Message. 

Then Esther sent Hatach again to him 
with this message : All the king's servants, 
yea, and all his people even unto the border 
of his dominions, know that there is a law 
that any man or woman that shall come 
unto the king into the inner court, being not 
called so to come, shall die, except the king 
shall hold out to him the golden sceptre. 
But I have not been called to go in to the 
king these thirty days past. Hatach told 
these words to Mordecai. 

Then Mordecai sent again to Esther, 
saying, Think not that thou being in the 
king's palace wilt escape more than the 
rest of thy people. If thou wilt say nothing, 



then deliverance shall come to the Jews from 
some other place, but thou and thy father's 
house shall perish. Dost thou not rather 
think that thou hast been called to the place 
of a queen in Persia that thou mayst work 
deliverance for thy people in this time of 
their peril ? 

Then the queen sent to Mordecai this 
answer : Go, gather together all the Jews 
that are in Shushan, and fast for me, neither 
eating or drinking for three days ; I also 
and my maidens will fast, and so I will go in 
unto the king. If I perish, I perish. And 
Mordecai did as Esther had commanded him. 

On the third day of her fasting Queen 
Esther put on her royal apparel and went 
into the inner court of the king's house; and 
the king sat in his chamber, that was over 
against the gate of the inner court, and when 
he saw the queen standing in the court, she 
found favor in his sight, and he held out to 
her the golden sceptre. 

Haman Summoned to the Banquet. 

Then she drew near and touched the top 
of the sceptre. The king said to her, What 
ails thee, Queen Esther ? And what is thy 
request? For it shall be given thee, even 
unto the half of my kingdom. And Esther 
answered, If it seem good to the king, let 
the king and Haman come this day to the 
banquet that I have prepared ; for she feared 
to show at that time all that was in her 
heart. The king sent to Haman, and bade 
him make haste and come to the banquet 
that the queen had prepared. So the king 
and Haman came to the banquet. 

And as they sat at the wine, the king said 
to Esther, What is thy petition ? It shall 
be granted to thee even unto the half of my 
kingdom ; for he knew that she had some- 
thing that she would ask of him. But Esther 
yet feared to show the thing. Therefore 



RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 



32? 



she said, If I have found favor in the sight 
of the king, and if it please the king to grant 
my petition, then let the king and Haman 
come again to-morrow to the banquet that 
I shall prepare, and to-morrow I will make 
known my request. 

Haman went forth from the queen's pres- 
ence that day with a joyful heart ; but as he 
passed by the gate of the king's palace he 
saw Mordecai; and Mordecai, as before, 
refused to prostrate himself on the ground 
before him ; nay, he did not stand up nor 
move from his place. 

Wants Mordecai Hanged. 

And Haman was full of indignation ; 
nevertheless he restrained himself, and went 
to his house. And when he came thither he 
called for Zeresh his wife, and for his friends, 
and boasted to them of his greatness, of his 
riches, and of the number of his children — 
for he had ten sons, and the Persians greatly 
honor those that have many sons — and how 
the king had honored him, promoting him 
above all his princes and servants. Yea, he 
said, this day Esther the queen did let no 
man save myself come in with the king to 
the banquet which she had prepared ; and 
to-morrow also I am invited with the king. 
But all this avails me nothing, so long as I 
see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's 
gate. 

Then Zeresh and his friends said to him, 
Cause that a cross threescore and fifteen feet 
high be set up, and to-morrow speak unto 
the king that Mordecai may be hanged 
thereon, and then go thou merrily with the 
king into the banquet. And the thing 
pleased Haman, and he caused the cross to 
be made. 

That night the king could not sleep ; so 
he sent for the book of the records of the 
kingdom, and bade his servants read to him 



out of it, for it was not the custom among 
the Persians that the king should read. 
And it was found written therein that two 
of the king's chamberlains that kept the 
door of his chamber had conspired to slay 
the king, and that Mordecai had told the 
matter to the king. 

Haman Before the King, 

Then the king said, What honor and dig- 
nity has been done to Mordecai for this ? 
Then the king's servants answered, There 
has been nothing done to him. Then the 
king said, Who is in the court ? 

Now Haman had come into the court of 
the king's house to make request to the king 
that Mordecai might be hanged on the cross 
that he had made. So the king's servants 
said, Haman standeth in the court. And 
the king said, Let him come in. So Haman 
came in. 

And the king said, What shall be done to 
the man whom the king delighteth to honor? 
And Haman thought in his heart, To whom 
will the king delight to do honor more than 
to myself! And he answered, Let apparel 
which the king is wont to wear be brought 
for him, and the horse on which the king 
rides, and the royal crown that is set upon 
his head ; and let these things be delivered 
to one of the most noble of the king's 
princes, that he may array the man with 
them, and cause him to ride on horseback 
through the streets of the city, and proclaim 
before him, Thus shall it be done unto the 
man whom the king delighteth to honor. 

Then the king said, Make haste, and take 
the apparel and the horse, as thou hath said, 
and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that 
sits at the king's gate. 

And Haman took the apparel and the 
horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and made him 
ride through the great square, and pro- 



328 



RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 



claimed before him, Thus shall it be done to 
the man whom the king delighteth to honor. 

And Mordecai went back to his place at 
the king's gate, but Haman returned to his 
house mourning, and with his head covered; 
and he told Zeresh his wife and his friends all 
that had happened to him. And they said to 
him, If Mordecai be of the race of the Jews, 
thou shalt not prevail against him. And 
while they were yet talking with him, came 
the king's chamberlain, and bade him make 
haste and come to the banquet that Esther 
had prepared. 

So the king and Haman came in unto the 
banquet that the queen had prepared. And 
the king said to Esther, for he knew that she 
had something in her mind, What is thy 
petition ? It shall be granted thee even unto 
the half of my kingdom. 

They Hanged Haman. 

Then Esther the queen answered and said, 
If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, 
and if it please the king, let my life and the 
life of my people be granted to me, for we 
are sold to be slain. If we had been sold 
for bondmen and bondwomen, then had I 
said nothing. But what shall the king profit 
if he gain ten thousand talents of silver and 
lose so many of his people? 

Then the king said, Who is this that has 
dared to devise such a thing against thee ? 
For he knew not that the queen was of the 
race of the Jews ? 

And the queen answered, My enemy is 
that wicked Haman. Then the king in his 
wrath rose from the banquet and went out 
into the garden of the palace. And Haman 
was sore afraid, and fell at the feet of the 
queen to make supplication for his life. 

And when the king saw it he said, Will 
he dare to touch the queen ? And as the 
word went out of the king's mouth, the 



chamberlains covered Hainan's face. And 
one of them said, There is a cross threescore 
and fifteen feet high, which Haman caused 
to be made for Mordecai. And the king 
said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged 
him upon it, and the king's wrath was paci- 
fied. 

That day the king gave to Esther the 
queen all that Haman had possessed. And 
when Esther told him that Mordecai was 
her kinsman, the king gave him his ring, 
and set him in the office which Haman had 
had. 

But the decree that had been sent out 
against the Jews yet stood. Therefore 
Esther went in again to the king, and when 
he held out to her the golden sceptre, she 
said, If it please the king, and if I have 
found favor in his sight, and if I be pleasing 
in his eyes, then let the decree which Haman 
caused to be made against the Jews be 
reversed, for how can I endure to see the 
evil that shall come unto my own people, or 
bear to see the destruction of my people ? 

The Jews Are Delivered. 

Then the king said, Haman have I hanged 
because he laid his hand upon thy people, 
and his house have I given to thee, but the 
writing that is written in the king's name 
and sealed with the king's ring no man may 
reverse. Nevertheless ye may write what 
ye will on behalf of the Jews in the king's 
name, and seal it with the king's ring. 

So Mordecai wrote in the king's name to 
the governors of all the provinces through- 
out the realm of Persia to this effect, that it 
should be lawful for the Jews that were in 
every city to gather themselves together 
and to stand for their life, and to slay all 
such as should assault them, and to take 
their goods for a prey. This they did and 
gained the victory over their enemies. 




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THE TREASURES OF WINTER. 



329 




THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE. 



330 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

B. C. 1520. 

The Story of Job — Sons, Daughters and Great Possessions — Satan Among the Sons 
of God — Messengers Bring Startling News — Job Afflicted with Boils — A Visit 
from Three Friends — Job's Grievous Complaint — Better Days at Last — Presents 
and Congratulations — Increase of Riches. 




OW patient Job was is told 
us in the book that is called 
by his name. He lived in 
the land of Uz, and was 
perfect and upright, and one 
that feared God, and es- 
chewed evil. And there 
were born unto him seven sons and three 
daughters. His substance also was seven 
thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, 
and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five 
hundred she-asses, and a very great house- 
hold; so that this man was the greatest of 
all the men of the east. 

And his sons went and feasted in their 
houses, every one his day; and sent and 
called for their three sisters to eat and to 
drink with them. And it was so, when the 
days of their feasting were gone, that Job 
sent and sanctified them, and rose up early 
in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings 
according to the number of them all: for 
Job said, It may be that my sons have 
sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus 
did Job continually. 

Now there was a day when the sons of 
God came to present themselves before the 
Lord, and Satan came also among them. 
And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence 
comest thou? Then Satan, answered the 
Lord, and said, From going to and fro in 
the earth, and from walking up and down 



in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast 
thou considered my servant Job, that there 
is none like him in the earth, a perfect and 
an upright man, one that feareth God, and 
escheweth evil? 

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, 
Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou 
not made a hedge about him, and about 
his house, and about all that he hath on 
every side; thou hast blessed the work of 
his hands, and his substance is increased in 
the land. But put forth thine hand now, 
and touch all that he hath, and he will curse 
thee to thy face. And the Lord said untc 
Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy 
power; only upon himself put not forth thy 
hand. So Satan went forth from the pres 
ence of the Lord. 

They Bring Evil News. 

And there was a day when Job's sons and 
his daughters were eating and drinking wine 
in their eldest brother's house: and there 
came a messenger unto Job, and said, The 
oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding 
beside them : and the Sabeans fell upon them, 
and took them away; yea, they have slain 
the servants with the edge of the sword; 
and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 

While he was yet speaking, there came 
also another, and said, The fire of God is 
fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the 

331 



332 



THE STORY OF JOB. 



sheep, and the servants, and consumed them, 
and I only have escaped to tell thee. 

While he was yet speaking, there came 
also another, and said, The Chaldeans made 
out three bands, and fell upon the camels, 
and have carried them away, yea, and slain 
the servants with the edge of the sword ; 



they are dead ; and I only am escaped alone 
to tell thee. 

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and 
shaved his head, and fell down upon the 
ground, and worshipped, and said, The Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away; 
blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this 




THE MESSENGERS TELLING JOB OF HIS LOSSES. 



and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 
While he was yet speaking, there came 
also another, and said, Thy sons and thy 
daughters were eating and drinking wine in 
their eldest brother's house: and, behold, 
there came a great wind from the wilder- 
ness, and smote the four corners of the 
house, and it fell upon the young men, and 



Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. 
Again there was a day when the sons of 
God came to present themselves before the 
Lord, and Satan came also among them tx> 
present himself before the Lord. And the 
Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest 
thou ? And Satan answered the Lord, and 
said, From going to and fro in the earth, 



THE STORY OF JOB. 



333 



and from walking up and down in it. 

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou 
considered my servant Job, that there is 
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an 
upright man, one that feareth God, and 
escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast 
his integrity, although thou movedst me 
against him, to destroy him without cause. 

And Satan answered the Lord, and said, 
Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will 
he give for his life. But put forth thine 
hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, 
and he will curse thee to thy face. And the 
Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine 
hand ; but save his life. 

Smitten with Boils. 

So went Satan forth from the presence of 
the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from 
the sole of his foot unto his crown. And 
he took him a potsherd to scrape himself 
withal ; and he sat down among the ashes. 

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou 
still retain thy integrity? Curse God, and 
die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest 
as one of the foolish women speaketh- 
What ? Shall we receive good at the hand of 
God, and shall we not receive evil ? In all 
this did not Job sin with his lips. 

Now when Job's three friends heard of all 
this evil that was come upon him, they came 
to mourn with him, and to comfort him. 
And they sat down with him upon the 
ground seven days and seven nights, and 
none spoke a word unto him : for they saw 
that his grief was very great. 

After this opened Job his mouth, and 
cursed the day wherein he was born, and 
said, Why did I not give up the ghost in the 
day wherein I was born, for then should I 
have slept and been in quiet where the 
wicked cease from troubling and the weary 
are at rest. 



And Job's three friends reasoned with him, 
but he hearkened not unto them ; but 
justified himself rather than God. 

Job's Complaint. 

He said, is there not an appointed time to 
man upon earth ? Are not his days also like 
the days of an hireling? As a servant 
earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hire- 
ling looketh for the reward of his work : So am 
I made to possess months of vanity, and 
wearisome nights are appointed to me. 

When I lie down, I say, When shall I 
arise, and the night be gone? And I am 
full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning 
of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms 
and clods of dust ; my skin is broken, and 
become loathsome. My days are swifter 
than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent with- 
out hope. 

remember that my life is wind : mine 
eye shall no more see good. The eye of 
him that hath seen me shall see me no 
more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am 
not. As the cloud is consumed and 
vanisheth away : so he that goeth down to 
the grave shall come up no more. He shall 
return no more to his house, neither shall his 
place know him any more. 

Therefore I will not refrain my mouth ; I 
will speak in the anguish of my spirit ; I 
will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my 
couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou 
scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me 
through visions : so that my soul chooseth 
strangling, and death rather than my life. 

1 loathe it ; I would not live alway : let 
me alone ; for my days are vanity. What 
is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? 
And that thou shouldest set thine heart 
upon him ? And that thou shouldest visit 
him every morning, and try him every 



334 



THE STORY OF JOB. 



moment? How long wilt thou not depart 
from me, nor let me alone till I swallow 
down my spittle ? 

I have sinned ; what shall I do unto thee, 
O thou preserver of men ? Why hast thou 
set me as a mark against thee, so that I am 
a burden to myself? And why dost thou not 
pardon my transgression, and take away mine 
iniquity ? For now shall I sleep in the dust : 



I will not answer : yea, twke ; but I will 
proceed no farther. 

Then answered the Lord unto Job out of 
the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins 

now like a man: I will demand of thee, and? 

I 
declare thou unto me. Wilt thou aiso dis- 
annul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn 
me, that thou mayest be righteous ? Hast 
thou an arm like God ? Or canst thou 




JOB AND HIS THREE FRIENDS. 



and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but 
I shall not be. 

Then the Lord answered Job, and said, 
Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty 
instruct him? He that reproveth God, let 
him answer it. Then Job answered the 
Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile ; what 
shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand 
upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but 



thunder with a voice like him? Deck 
thyself now with majesty and excel- 
lency; and array thyself with glory and 
beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath ; 
and behold every one that is proud, and 
abase him. Look on every one that is 
proud, and bring him low ; and tread down 
the wicked in their place. Hide them in the 
dust together ; and bind their faces in secret 



THE STORY OF JOB. 335 

spoken these words ^nto job, the Lord 
said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is 
kindled against thee, and against thy two 
friends : for ye have not spoken of me the 
thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 
Therefore take unto you now seven bul 
out knowledge ? Therefore have I uttered locks and seven rams, and go to my servant 



Then will I also confess unto thee that thine 
own right hand can save thee. 

Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I 
know that thou canst do every thing, and 
that no thought can be withholden from 
thee. Who is he that hideth counsel with- 




JOB VISITED 



that I understood not; things too wonderful 
for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech 
thee, and I will speak : I will demand of thee, 
and declare thou unto me. I have heard of 
thee by the hearing of the ear : but now 
mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor 
myself, and repent in dust and ashes. 

And it was so, that after the Lord had 



HIS RELATIVES. 



Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt, 
offering ; and my servant Job shall pray for 
you : for him will I accept ; lest I deal with 
you after your folly, in that ye have not 
spoken of me the thing which is right, like 
my servant Job. 

So they did according as the Lord com* 
manded them : the Lord also accepted Job- 



336 



THE STORY OF JOB. 



And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, 
when he prayed for his friends: also the 
Lord gave Job twice as much as he had 
before. Then came there unto him all his 
brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that 
had been of his acquaintance before, and did 
eat bread with him in his house : and they 
bemoaned him, and comiorted him over all 
the evil that the Lord had brought upon 
him : every man also gave him a piece of 
money, and every one an earring of gold. 

So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job 



more than his beginning ; for he had four- 
teen thousand sheep, and six thousand 
camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and 
a thousand she-asses. 

He had also seven sons and three daugh- 
ters. And in all the land were no women 
found so fair as the daughters of job : and 
their father gave th^m inheritance among 
their brethren. After this lived Job an 
hundred and forty years, and saw his son*, 
and his sons' sons, even four generations. 
So Job died, being old and full of days. 





THE ANGELS APPEARING TO THE SHEPHERDS 



gjjjjj 




CHRISTMAS CAROLS. 



337 




jf4 YG ftatft, IfcOt. SGGU, 



i^ot 8ar fieard 
eitfier have entered 
Jo tfie fyeart 

t.Tiet.fting's 
vtffucfi (?od 

Aatfiprepared 
for tfiem, 

tftat 
fove tGim, 




THE JOYS THAT ARE UNSEEN. 



338 



THE 

Story of Ghriffc and the j&po$flef. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The Story of Bethlehem — A Roman Emperor — Zacharias in the Temple — An Angel 
Brings a Message — Birth of John Foretold — An Angel Appears to Mary — Elisa- 
beth Visits her Cousin — The Child Named John — Joseph and Mary at Bethlehem — 
Birth of the Child Jesus — The Angels and Shepherds — Scene in the Temple — 
Happy Old Simeon — Good News for the World — The Anthem of Peace. 




NE night at Bethlehem a child 
was born, and because there 
was no other place for him he 
was laid in a manger. The 
story of this child is the most 
wonderful ever written. For 
many centuries he had been 
promised, and it was foretold that he would 
be different from any other person that ever 
lived. A great many of the people who lived 
in Palestine were expecting him, and many 
persons in other countries were also looking 
for the coming of one who would bring some 
great blessing to the world. God had said 
that when he came he would be a Jew. 
That means, one of Abraham's family. The 
Jews were very proud about that. They 
often talked about the coming of this re- 
markable person, and when they spoke of 
him they called him the Messiah. 

The Jews were very unhappy just now. 
The soldiers belonging to the great city of 
Rome had been fighting with them, and the 
Jews had been made servants of the great 
Roman king. He was called the Emperor 
or Augustus Caesar. Augustus Caesar gave 
the Jews another king called Herod. They 
did not like Herod at all, for he was wicked 
and cruel. He actually killed some of his 



own sons, for fear they would want to be king 
instead of him. Herod killed his wife, and 
her father and mother and brother, and he 
killed his own uncle. 

They Wanted a Better King. 

The Jews longed to get rid of Herod, and 
many of them thought, It will be all right 
when the Messiah comes. The Messiah will 
fight against the Romans ; he will drive them 
away from our land ; and then he will be our 
king- instead of that wicked Herod. 

Palestine is a very hilly country, and in 
Judaea, the southern part of the country, the 
hills are very high and rugged. In a town 
amongst those hills, just at the time when 
people were expecting the Messiah to come 
quickly, there lived a priest whose name 
was Zacharias, with his wife, whose name 
was Elisabeth. Zacharias and Elisabeth 
were so good that nobody could find fault 
with anything they did. They tried to 
please God in everything. 

But one thing often made them sad. 
They had never had any children. Often 
and often they had asked God to give them 
a little boy. But no little son had ever been 
sent to that home amongst the hills. 

One day, most likely in the beginning of 

339 



340 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



October, when the grapes of Palestine are 
ripe, it was the turn of Zacharias to go for 
a week to the temple to help in the services 
there. So he left his wife and his home, 
and went over the hills to Jerusalem. Priests 
were only allowed to offer incense once in 
the whole of their lives. One morning or 
evening, while Zacharias was in Jerusalem, 
he was chosen to do it. 

When he went into the Holy Place he 
wore the same dress the priests always put 
on when they were busy in the temple- 
cap, coat, drawers and lofig sash, all made 
of white, shining material. But he had no 
shoes. In the East, people always take off 
their shoes when they go into holy places, 
instead of taking off their hats, as men do 
in our own country. 

And now the golden gates of the Holy 
Place were shut, and Zacharias was left alone 
inside the temple to burn the sweet-smelling 
incense. A little bell was rung, and the 
people in the courts outside fell down to the 
ground and prayed; and we may be sure 
that Zacharias, as he burned the incense, 
prayed too with all his heart. Inside and 
outside the temple there was a great silence. 

Joyful News. 

Just then, close to the place where the 
incense was burning, Zacharias saw an angel 
of the Lord. That angel's name was 
Gabriel. When Zacharias saw the angel, he 
was afraid ; but there was nothing to be 
frightened about. The angel had only 
come to bring him good news. God was 
going first of all to send Zacharias and Elis- 
abeth a son, and then — the Messiah was 
coming ! The angel told Zacharias what 
his son's name was to be called, John. 

Gabriel told Zacharias what sort of child 
John would be. He said that the little boy 
would make his father and mother very 



happy, and that a great many persons would 
be glad when he was born. And, best of 
all, he said that John would be God's serv- 
ant always, even from the time he was a 
baby ; and that when he grew up he would 
prepare a people for the Lord. 

What did " preparing a people for the 
Lord " mean ? In the land where Zacharias 
lived, the roads were very stony and rough. 
When a great man was coming to any of the 
towns, he used to send servants on before 
him to make his way ready. These servants 
used to pick up the rough stones from the 
roads, and throw them away ; and they 
mended the roads, and made them smooth 
and straight. 

Clearing the Road. 

And then, as the great man came along, 
they shouted to the poor men and women, 
and the camels and donkeys that were any- 
where near, Make haste, make haste, move 
out of the road ! This was called preparing 
the way. Preparing is the same as getting 
ready. 

And now that Jesus was coming, God was 
sending John to make his way ready. John 
was not to make the roads of Palestine 
smooth for the feet of Jesus to walk upon. 
He was to make the hearts of the Jews ready 
for Jesus. The angel said that God would 
give John his Holy Spirit to help him in this 
work. 

When Zacharias heard the news that the 
angel had brought, he could not believe it. 
He thought, It is too good to be true. The 
angel told him that it was quite true, but 
that, as he did not believe God's message, 
he should be dumb until his little child was 
born. 

The people in the courts outside the temple 
had finished praying now ; and they could 
not understand what kept Zacharias so long 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



341 



in the Holy Place. Presently the golden 
gates were opened, and Zacharias came out 



had happened, but he could not speak at all. 
Then the lamb which had been killed as a 




THE ANGEL APPEARING TO MARY. 



to the top of the steps ; he kept on moving 
his hands about, and trying to explain what 



sacrifice was burned, and a psalm was sung, 
and the silver trumpets were blown, and a 



342 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



priest blessed the people, and the people 
went home ; and Zacharias went back again 
to his home amongst the hills of Judaea, and 
told his wife Elisabeth what had happened. 
Though he could not speak, yet he could 
write down anything he wanted to say. 

The Angel's Visit to Mary. 

Elisabeth, who lived amongst the hills of 
Judaea, had a cousin who lived in a little 
town called Nazareth, among the hills of 
Galilee. The name of Elisabeth's cousin 
was Mary. Mary was going to be married 
to a carpenter called Joseph, who lived, like 
herself, in the town of Nazareth. But she 
was not married yet. She was still living at 
home. 

One day God sent an angel to Mary with 
a message. Mary was in-doors when the 
angel came to her and he said, The Lord is 
with thee. 

Mary was very much surprised when she 
saw and heard the angel, and she was a 
little frightened too. But the ange 1 cold her 
not to be frightened. He had some glad 
news for her. The Son of God, the Mes- 
siah/was coming into the world very soon, 
and he was to come to earth in human 
form as Mary's little child. And the angel 
said that when he was born, Mary must call 
him Jesus. The angel told Mary too the 
good news about her cousin Elisabeth, that 
God was going also to send her a son. 

Elisabeth lived more than a hundred miles 
away from Nazareth, but Mary longed so 
much to talk about all these wonderful 
things with her that she at once got ready 
for a long journey, and went off into the 
hill-country of Judaea to see her cousin. 
Oh, what a happy meeting that was ! 

God had told Elisabeth's secret to Mary, 
and now when Mary got to the town where 
her cousin lived, and went into her house, 



and said, Peace be upon you (that is what 
people always say in the East), God told 
Mary's secret to Elisabeth. And Elisabeth 
was filled with joy, and she called Mary the 
Mother of my Lord, and blessed her. And 
Mary's heart and lips said, My soul doth 
magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath re- 
joiced in God my Saviour. These words 
are very often sung in church. 

We do not know any more about Mary's 
visit to Elisabeth, excepting that she stayed 
at her cousin's house for about three 
months, and that then she went back to her 
home in Nazareth. 

And now the time had come when God 
had promised that he would send Elisabeth 
a son. And when the baby was born, her 
relatives and her friends were delighted, and 
they came to see her, and to thank God with 
her for his great kindness. 

He Is Named John. 

The little Jew babies have a name given 
to them when they are eight days old. This 
baby's father, Zacharias, was dumb, you 
remember; he could not speak, but his 
friends said that his little child ought to be 
called Zacharias, like him. When Elisabeth 
heard that, she said, Not so, but he shall be 
called John. And they said to her, There 
are none of thy relatives called by that 
name ; and they made signs to Zacharias to 
know what name he would choose (for 
Zacharias was deaf as well as dumb, and he 
could not hear what they were talking 
about). 

Then Zacharias asked for a tablet — a 
piece of wood covered over with wax, and 
he wrote on the wax with a pointed iron 
pencil. This is what he wrote, His name is 
John. The friends were surprised that 
Zacharias too had chosen that name. They 
did not know that God had told him to 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



343 



choose it And how much more surprised 
they must have been when the dumb man 
opened his mouth and began to speak ! 

Yes, Zacharias could speak now, and the 
very first thing he did was to thank and 
praise God for keeping his promise about 
sending the Messiah. And then, turning to 



when a boy ; but we know that he grew and 
grew until he became a brave, strong man. 

One night, very soon after Mary got back 
from her cousin Elisabeth's house, the angei 
of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream- 
The angel told Joseph to marry Mary, and 
he told him Mary's beautiful secret about the 




ZACHARIAS WRITING A NAME FOR THE CHILD. 



his new-born son, he said, And thou, child, 
shalt go before the face of the Lord to pre- 
pare his ways. That was just what the 
angel had told Zacharias when he was in 
the Holy Place. Zacharias did not believe 
God's message then, but now he believed it 
with all his heart. 

We do not know much more about John 



Son of God coming to earth as her little 
child, and he said to Joseph, Thou shalt call 
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people 
from their sins. When Joseph woke up, his 
first thought was to do what the angel had 
told him. At once he took Mary to his own 
home as his wife. 

About this time Caesar Augustus sent 



344 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



word to Herod that he was to take a census 
of the Jews. A census is taken in this way : 
Everybody's name is written down and his 
age, and many other things about him. And 
then when the list, or census, is finished we 
know how many persons there are in the 
country. Every one in Palestine excepting 
old people and little children had to pay 
money every year to Caesar Augustus, and 
some of the Jews were obliged to be his 
soldiers ; and every twenty years Augustus 
had a census taken, so that he might know 
exactly how much money the Jews ought to 
pay him, and how many Jew soldiers he 
ought to have. 

There was a curious plan in Palestine at 
census time. People had to go to the towns 
where their fathers' fathers lived a long time 
ago, and had to have their names put down 
there, instead of having them put down in 
their own homes. 

No Room at the Inn. 

No w, both Joseph and Mary belonged to 
the family of the great King David, who was 
born in Bethlehem. So Mary had to 
prepare once more for a long journey, and 
had to go with her husband to Bethlehem. 
Bethlehem is six miles from Jerusalem. It 
is on the top of a hill, and people have to 
climb up a difficult, slippery road to get 
into the town. But Mary could not rest 
even yet after her long journey ; for the inn 
where Joseph meant to stay was quite full. 

The inns in Palestine have four walls, with 
a door in the front, and with a great empty 
space for camels and horses inside. In the 
very middle of that empty space there is a 
fountain ; and all around the walls, just a 
little bit higher than the part where the 
animals are, there are a number of places 
like empty stone arbors. These empty 
places are called leewans, and they are quite 



open in front, so that everybody can see 
what everybody else is doing. 

The people of the East carry their own 
beds, something like eider-down quilts, and 
their own cooking pots and pans with them 
when they are on a journey, and they cook, 
and eat, and sleep in these leewans at night. 
When they go away, they do not have to pay 
anything. Yet Mary and Joseph, after all 
their long journey from Nazareth, could not 
find even an empty leewan to lie down in. 
What were they to do ? 

Near that inn there was another place, in 
which asses and camels were kept. It must 
have been a cave, a great hole in the side of 
the hill. And because there was no room 
for them in the inn, Mary and Joseph had to 
go into that stable to sleep. And in that 
stable Jesus was born. And Mary wrapped 
him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in the 
manger in the place where the animals food 
was kept. 

Swaddling clothes are cloths which are 
wrapped round and round the babies in the 
East. Their arms, and legs, and bodies are 
wrapped up tightly in these cloths, and their 
heads are fastened up with a little shawl. 
They look almost like mummies, as only the 
face can be seen. 

Killed a Lion and Bear. 

The great King David, who had ruled 
over the land a thousand years before this 
time, had been at first only a poor shepherd 
boy. He lived in the city of Bethlehem, to 
which Joseph and Mary had now come, and 
took care of his father's sheep in the fields 
beyond. 

One day, when he was out with the flock, 
a lion came rushing out of the forest near 
by, and seized one of the lambs. He would 
soon have devoured it, but David ran after 
him, and though he had no weapon but his 




THE WISE MEN PRESENTING THEIR GIFTS. 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



345 



shepherd's staff, he killed the lion, and deliv- 
ered the lamb out of his power. Another 
day, a bear came forth and attacked the 
flock in like manner, and him also David 
slew with his shepherd's staff. 

That had happened a thousand years 
before, but still the shepherds of Bethlehem 
were obliged to watch their flocks by day 
hnd by night, to guard them from wild beasts. 

On the night when the little child was 
born in the stable, the shepherds went as 
usual to their work in the fields, little think- 
ing of the wonderful things they were to 
see and hear before the morning dawned. 
Suddenly, as they were watching their flocks, 
they saw a great light above the brightness 
of the stars, and in the midst of the light an 
angel. They were filled with fear. But the 
angel said to them, Fear not : for behold, I 
bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people. For unto you is 
born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, 
which is Christ the Lord. 

Visit from the Shepherds. 

Then the angel went on to tell them how 
they should know the Saviour of the world 
from all other children, and gave them a 
sign by which to discover him. This, he 
said, shall be a sign unto you ; ye shall find 
the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 
lying in a manger. 

When the angel had finished speaking, 
the whole sky became covered with shining 
angels, and a multitude of the heavenly host 
sang praise to God, saying, Glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
toward men. 

After this the vision disappeared, the 
sound of voices ceased, the light faded from 
the sky, and the shepherds were left alone as 
before. When they had recovered from the 
awe and astonishment that had seized them, 



they said one to another, Let us now go 
even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing 
which is come to pass, which the Lord hath 
made known unto us. 

They set out at once, and came with haste 
to Bethlehem ; and there, when they had 
reached the stable, they found Mary and 
Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 
Then they remembered the sign which the 
angel had given them, and knew that this 
was the child of whom he had spoken, and 
they hastened to tell their friends and neigh- 
bors all that they had heard from the angel 
concerning him. 

They Go Back Praising God. 

All were astonished at those things that 
were told them by the shepherds, and the 
shepherds themselves returned to their 
flocks, glorifying and praising God for all 
the wonders that they had heard and seen. 

Eight days afterwards, the child was cir- 
cumcised according to the Jewish custom, 
and he received the name that had been 
given to him by the angel before his birth — 
the name of Jesus. 

The Jewish law commanded that the first- 
born son of every family should be solemnly 
presented to the Lord as soon as he was six 
weeks old ; and when the child Jesus had 
reached this age, he was taken to Jerusalem 
by Joseph and Mary, that this ceremony 
might be performed in the temple, according 
to the usual custom. 

Jerusalem was the chief city of the land of 
Israel. It had been taken long ago by King 
David, who built a fort round it to defend it 
from enemies, and made a palace for himself 
to live in. He wished also to build a temple 
to the Lord, and gathered together great 
stores of gold and silver, brass and iron s 
hewn stones and cedar-wood, wherewith to 
make it beautiful. 



346 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



He was not able, however, to do as he 
desired with regard to the building, but he 
charged his son Solomon to carry out his 
purpose, and Solomon built a temple which 
was the wonder of all lands for splendor and 
magnificence. This temple had been destroyed 
by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria, who 
had conquered Jerusalem and carried away 
the Jews into captivity, but they had long 
since returned from that captivity, which only 
lasted for seventy years, and now another 
temple stood in the place of the first. 

The Child Brought to the Temple. 

The new temple had been begun by King 
Herod about nineteen years before this time, 
and was still not quite finished. It had a 
golden dome or rounded roof, which glistened 
in the sunshine, and it was approached by 
avenues of beautiful marble pillars. Inside, 
it was divided into two parts, which were 
surrounded by many outer courts. The 
first of these was called the Holy Place, and 
here the sacrifices were offered up to God, 
when they had been slain by the priests upon 
a huge altar of brass. Beyond this was the 
Holy of Holies, which was hidden by a 
curtain drawn before it, and never entered 
except once a year by the High Priest alone. 

To this beautiful temple Joseph and Mary 
brought the child Jesus, to present him to 
the Lord. It was usual, at the same time, 
to present a lamb of a year old to be sacri- 
ficed on the great altar ; but those who could 
not afford so costly an offering, might bring 
instead a pair of turtle doves, or two young 
pigeons. As Joseph and Mary were poor 
people, they offered the humbler gift of a pair 
of birds, and when these had been laid upon 
the altar, and had yielded up their life, the 
priest took the child into his arms, and 
solemnly blessed him. 

Now there lived at this time in Jerusalem 



a certain man named Simeon, who was 
just and devout, and who was waiting for 
the consolation of Israel. All the chil- 
dren of Israel who really cared for their 
country were grieved because their land was 
under the yoke of the Romans, and were 
looking and waiting for a deliverer who 
should save them from their enemies. Long 
ago, the prophets had spoken of a Messiah 
who should come in the time of trouble to 
comfort his people, to put an end to all evil, 
and to reign in power and righteousness, 
extending his kingdom over the whole world. 
Simeon was a very old man. He had 
lived a long life in obedience to the command- 
ments of God, and the Holy Spirit of God 
rested upon him and directed all his actions. 
It had been revealed to him that he should 
not taste of death until he had seen the Lord's 
Christ, and day by day he was looking for 
the Messiah to come. 

A Happy Old Man. 

On the day when Jesus was presented to 
the Lord, the Spirit of God moved Simeon 
to enter the temple just at the moment when 
the priest had taken the child into his arms 
to bless him, and as soon as he saw the 
child, Simeon knew that this was he for 
whose coming he had been waiting so long. 
He took him up in his arms, and praised 
God, saying, Lord, now lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, according to thy 
word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 
which thou hast prepared before the face of 
all people ; a light to lighten the Gentiles, 
and the glory of thy people Israel. 

Joseph and Mary were filled with wonder 
at those things that Simeon had spoken con* 
cerning the child, and Simeon blessed them 
both, and told them again that this child 
would be the Saviour of his people. 

Just then there entered into the temple arv 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



347 



aged prophetess called Anna. She was of a 
great age, having been a widow for eighty- 
four years, and she was continually in the 
temple, serving God with fastings and prayers 
night and day. When she heard the words 
of Simeon, she also gave thanks to the Lord, 
and to all those in Jerusalem who were 



name of its own. In those days, people 
believed that by such studies they could 
foretell great events that were going to hap- 
pen ; and especially when a great king or 
hero was about to be born, they thought 
it was sure to be signified by some unusual 
appearance in the sky. 




SIMEON TAKING THE 

looking for the Messiah she told the good 
news that the Saviour had come. 

In a country east of the land of Israel, 
there lived some wise men, who spent much 
time in studying the stars. Every night they 
observed the heavens ; and they knew all the 
stars one from another, and gave to each a 



CHILD IN HIS ARMS. 

The wise men had watch-towers from 
which to observe the movements of the stars 9 
and one night, when as usual they were 
looking attentively at the heavens, they 
suddenly perceived the appearance of a star 
that they had never seen before. It grew 
brighter and brighter, and soon there could 



348 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



be no doubt that it was indeed a new star. 
They were very much astonished, and said 
one to another that some wonderful event 
must be going to take place. 

Then one of the wise men remembered 
what he had once read in an old book, and 
he said, Long ago it was foretold by a 
prophet of our race that a star should come 
Out of Israel, and a king arise who should 
smite down all the enemies of his people. 
This star must be sent to tell us that the king 
of whom that prophet spoke has now been 
born in the land of the Jews. 

Herod Greatly Troubled. 

One of the others answered, This is no 
doubt the meaning of the star. Let us go, 
then, and pay our homage to the new-born 
king, and offer him presents. 

To this they all agreed, and immediately 
they began to prepare for the journey. The 
servants made ready their camels, their 
mules, and their asses, and they took with 
them rich presents, gold, and sweet-smelling 
spices, and herbs that cure disease. As they 
travelled across the desert at night, they could 
see the star shining high above their heads. 
On it went, in front of them, and following 
the path it seemed to point out, they came at 
last to Jerusalem, the chief city of the land of 
Israel. 

When they reached Jerusalem, they went 
at once to the palace of the king, whose name 
was Herod, and said to him, Where is he 
that is born King of the Jews ? For we have 
seen his star in the East, and are come to 
worship him. 

Now Herod was a wicked king. He had 
been set on the throne by the Romans, and 
as long as he had power and riches, it was 
nothing to him that his country was under 
the yoke of a foreign people. He was not 
one of those who were looking for the 



Redeemer of Israel, and he had heard 
nothing of the birth of Jesus, or of what had 
been said about him by Simeon and Anna, 
The words of the wise men troubled him, fof 
was not he himself the king ? He did not 
want to hear of any other king. 

Nevertheless he concealed his fear and 
anger, and sent for all the most learned men 
in Jerusalem, that they might search through 
the old books to see what had been said 
about the birthplace of the Messiah. They 
found that he was to be born in Bethlehem, 
for the prophet Micah had said, And thou 
Bethlehem, though thou art but a small city, 
yet out of thee shall he come forth that is to 
be Ruler in Israel. 

Then Herod told the wise men that they 
had better go to Bethlehem to seek for the 
newly-born King, and he said to them, When 
ye have found him, bring me word again, 
that I may come and worship him also. He 
did not really mean to worship him ; his 
mind was full of wicked thoughts, but for his 
own purposes he wished to find out where, 
the child was. 

Found in a Strange Place. 

The wise men journeyed on to Bethlehem 
with their servants and their treasures, and 
the star still went before them. When they 
reached the city, they again inquired for the 
child that had been born of the kingly family 
of David, and were directed to the house 
where Joseph and Mary were now living. 
At last they had reached the end of their 
long journey, and now they were told that 
the King whom they had travelled so far to 
see was to be found, not in a palace, but in 
the house of a poor carpenter. 

But they were not offended or turned 
aside on this account. They made their 
way to the house that had been pointed out 
to them, and when they had come to it, they 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



34^ 



looked up and saw the star, which seemed to 
be shining right over it, and they rejoiced 
with exceeding great joy. Then they entered 
In, and found the young child and Mary his 
mother, and they fell down and worshipped 
hinic And when they had opened their 



in gorgeous robes, and with crowns on then 
heads, kneeling before the Infant Saviour, and 
offering him their presents. 

When they had made an end of offering 
their worship and their treasures, the wise 
men returned to their home in the far East 




WISE MEN OF THE EAST PRESENTING THEIR GIFTS. 



treasures, they presented unto him their gifts, 
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 

Many beautiful pictures have been painted 
to represent this scene, and in them the wise 
men, or the Magi as they are sometimes 
called, usually appear as three kings, clothed 



They did not go back to Jerusalem, but 
departed unto their own country another 
way, for they were warned of God in a dream 
that they should not return to tell Herod 
where to find the child Jesus. 

Herod was thus kept in ignorance for 



350 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



a time, but when he found that the wise men 
had failed to come back and tell him that 
which he desired to know, he became very 
an g 1 T> anc * thoughts more wicked than ever 
took possession of his mind. He was 
determined to kill the newly-born King of 
the Jews, for he feared that otherwise, when 
the child grew up, he would take away the 



them to kill every little boy of two years oln 
and under, both in Bethlehem itself and in 
all the country round about. 

All over Bethlehem there was loud weep- 
ing and lamentation, for the soldiers of 
Herod entered every house, and wherever 
they foiled a little boy of two years old or 
less, they pierced it with their spears, and 




KILLING THE MALE CHILDREN UNDER TWO YEARS OLD. 



kingly power from him ; and having made up 
his mind to this wicked deed, he would not let 
himself be baffled because he did not know 
which child it was whose life he desired to 
take. 

He thought that if he killed all the 
children of Bethlehem, the child Jesus could 
not escape from perishing with the rest, and 
so he sent his soldiers to the town, and told 



killed it before its mother's eyes. In vain 
the mothers cried for mercy ; the commands 
of the wicked king were obeyed literally, and 
they were left to mourn as those who could 
not be comforted. 

But Joseph and Mary were not among the 
sorrowing parents ; Jesus was not one of the 
children who were slain. All this massacre 
of the innocent children had failed to secure 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



351 



for Herod the end that he desired, for the 
one child of whom he was afraid was already 
far away in a place of safety. 

Very soon after the wise men had left 
Bethlehem Joseph had seen a vision one 
night in his sleep. The angel of the Lord 
had appeared to him in a dream and said, 
Arise, and take the young child and his 
mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou 
there until I bring thee word, for Herod will 
seek the young child to destroy him. 

Immediately Joseph rose up, while it was 
still night, and saddled an ass, and when he 
had set the young child and his mother upon 
it, he led it quickly away from the town. 
Before the soldiers of Herod reached Bethle- 
hem, he was already far away, and he led the 
ass many weary miles across the desert till 
he came to the land of Egypt. 

They Return to Nazareth. 

There he tarried until he again had a 
dream. As before, the angel of the Lord 
appeared to him by night and said, Arise, 
and take the young child and his mother, 
and go into the land of Israel, for they are 
dead which sought the young child's life. 

Again Joseph arose and saddled the ass, 
and led Mary and the child back across the 
desert to the land of Israel. At first he 
intended to return to Bethlehem, for now 
that Herod was dead, he thought there 
would be no danger in going there; but 
when he heard that Archelaus, the son of 
Herod, who was nearly as wicked and cruel 
as his father, was ruling over that part of the 
country, he was afraid to go thither. He 
changed his purpose, therefore, and turned 
aside into the province of Galilee, to the town 
of Nazareth, where he and Mary had lived 
before the birth of Jesus. 

For many years Joseph and Mary lived 
a peaceful, happy life at Nazareth. The 



town was built on the side of a hill, and 
looked down upon waving fields of corn, 
and meadows full of beautiful flowers. In 
the spring-time every house was like a 
bower, for the vines crept all over the walls 
and covered them with garlands of green 
leaves. 

Joseph and Mary had returned to Naza- 
reth richer than when they left it, for they 
had brought with them the child who had 
been born in the stable at Bethlehem, and 
who had been worshipped by the wise men 
from the East, and declared by Simeon tc 
be the Redeemer of Israel. 

How Children Were Taught. 

Their house was only a poor working 
man's cottage, but it was a happy home, for 
love was there. The child who lived in 
that poor house was a pattern for all chil- 
dren, rich and poor. No unkind thoughts 
were in his heart, no untruthful words ever 
came from his lips ; in all things he was 
obedient to his parents, and kind and gentle 
to all around him. 

When he was old enough, Jesus went to 
school with the other children of the town, 
and there he learnt to read and write, and 
was taught the history of his country. 

In those days children were not taught 
in the same way as now. Printed books 
were not yet in use, and each roll of manu- 
script had to be copied out separately, so 
that such books were very precious, and 
there was only one for the whole school. 
This was held up by the master in front of 
the children, who sat on the floor in a half- 
circle round him, and repeated the words 
after him, as he pointed to them. When it 
was time for the writing lesson, they sprinkled 
the floor with smooth sand, and traced the 
letters upon it, either with their forefinger or 
with a pointed stick. 



352 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



Jesus was also taught the history of the 
Children of Israel. He learnt how his 
countrymen had once been slaves in the land 
of Egypt, and how God had delivered them 
from their enemies, and led them through 
the wilderness to the land of Canaan, which 
had been their home ever since. He learnt, 
too, about all the great men who had fought 
for their country, and especially about his 
own forefather, King David, who had con- 
quered the city of Jerusalem, and his son, 
King Solomon, who had built the temple 
there. 

Great Feast at Jerusalem. 

He was taught, moreover, to study the 
book of the Law of the Lord, as well as the 
Psalms that had been written by King David 
and other poets, and the books of the pro- 
phets, all of whom spoke of a Messiah who 
should come in the latter days to redeem 
his people. 

Thus the days and months passed hap- 
pily by, until Jesus was twelve years old. 
At school, as at home, he was always teach- 
able and kind and obedient, and loved by 
all who knew him. 

It was the custom amongst the Jews for 
all the grown-up people to make a journey 
every year to Jerusalem to worship in the 
temple of the Lord, and to hold a solemn 
feast in remembrance of the time when their 
forefathers had been delivered from the land 
of Egypt. 

Joseph and Mary went every year to 
Jerusalem for this purpose, and when Jesus 
was twelve years old, they took him with 
them for the first time. It was a beautiful 
spring morning when they set out from 
'Nazareth, with a large number of their 
friends and neighbors. The women rode on 
mules or asses, while the men and boys 
went on foot. The distance was about eighty 



miles, and the journey lasted several days 
Each night they made a little encampment 
beside a well of water, and there rested until 
the morning sun enabled them to continue 
their way. Then they again started forth, 
and as they went, they joined in singing 
psalms of praise to God. 

The mind of Jesus was full of happy 
and solemn thoughts as he walked along the 
pleasant country roads, and noticed the 
bright green of the young shoots, and the 
fruit trees full of blossom, and the flowers 
springing up along his path. He thought of 
the deliverance from Egypt, and thanked 
God for having brought his fathers to such a 
goodly land. He thought also of all that 
he had learnt about Jerusalem, and about 
David and Solomon and the other great 
men who had lived there, and looked forward 
eagerly to see it all with his own eyes. 

His Parents Lose Him. 

At last they reached a hill from the top 
of which they could catch the first sight 01 
Jerusalem, and a wonderful sight it was. 
Jerusalem at that time was a magnificent city, 
with towers and pinnacles of white marble, 
which gleamed from among the trees, while 
high above all shone the great golden roof of 
the temple. 

The city was crowded with strangers who 
had come to take part in the feast, and it 
was very difficult to find any shelter. Joseph 
and Mary and their friends from Nazareth 
were therefore obliged to encamp outside the 
city, as they had done on the journey, anr* 
they made for themselves temporary tents 
with willow-stems twisted together. They 
remained at Jerusalem for eight days until 
the feast was ended, and then all departed 
together to their own home. 

But before they had gone very far, Joseph 
and Mary discovered that the child Jesus was 




TESUS WORKING AT THE TRADE OF CARPENTER. 



25 



353 



354 



THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 



not with them, and they were filled with 
alarm. They went round to all their friends 
and kinsmen to inquire concerning him, but 
could hear no tidings, and at last they turned 
back to~ Jerusalem, to seek him there. It was 
not until the third day that they found him 
in the temple, sitting among the teachers of 
the Law, both listening to their works and 
asking questions when he did not understand 
their meaning. All were astonished that so 
young a boy should already know so much. 
Mary was proud that her son should have 
gained the approval of the teachers of the 
Law, but she could not refrain from rebuking 
him for having given her so much trouble. 
She said to him, Son, why hast thou dealt 
with us thus ? Behold, thy father and I have 
sought thee sorrowing. But he said to her, 
How was it that ye sought me? Did ye not 
know that I must be about my Father's 
business? 

Neither Mary nor Joseph knew what he 
meant by these words. They did not under- 



stand his delight in the Law of the Lord, nor 
his eagerness to make the most of every- 
opportunity of learning, in order that some 
day he might be able to teach, but they knew 
that he would not willingly pain or distress 
them. They took him back with them to 
Nazareth, and, as before, Jesus was obedient 
to them in all things. 

Year by year as the boy grew older, he 
became more loving and more lovable. As 
he increased in stature, so he increased in 
wisdom, and in favor with God and men. 
When he was old enough, he chose, the same 
trade as Joseph, and earned his living by 
working in the carpenter's shop. Once every 
year he want up to Jerusalem to keep the 
feast, but he always returned to his quiet 
home at Nazareth. There he lived until he 
was thirty years old, doing every day his 
daily duty, and preparing himself by thought 
and prayer for the great work that lay before 
him. He had shown in his youth what kind 
of a man he would be when he grew up. 





THK SURE AND STEADFAST ANCHOR. 



355 




BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS. 



356 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Story of John the Baptist — Jesus on the Banks of the Jordan — The Temptation in 
the Wilderness — The Fishermen Become Disciples — The Miracle in Cana of 
Galilee — Wine from Water — Jesus in Jerusalem — Buyers and Sellers Driven 
from the Temple — Words of Jesus not Understood — The Man who Came by Night 
— Discourse to Nicodemus. 




OR many more years, eighteen 
in all, till he grew up to be a 
man, Jesus remained in Naza- 
reth. He was thirty years old 
now ; but he was living quietly 
on in the old home. He had 
not yet begun to preach, or to 
do any miracle ; he was doing his Father's 
will in the humble home in which he had 
been brought up. 

People had become very wicked in those 
days. Every kind of iniquity, and wrong, 
and cruelty was done in the land ; and those 
people who still loved God, and grieved for 
all the sin that was going on around them, 
were looking and longing for a Saviour to 
come, who should take away all the evil, and 
make the nation better. 

The Saviour had indeed come ; but they 
did not know it. And if they had been told 
that the carpenter of Nazareth was the Mes- 
siah, promised in the Scriptures, the Son of 
God, they would not have believed it. Now, 
God wanted to prepare the people's hearts to 
believe in his dear Son, and to receive him as 
their Saviour. So he sent a messenger to 
them. 

This messenger was John the Baptist. He 
was a great prophet, and a great preacher ; 
and God's Holy Spirit was in him from the 
day he was born. He was not dressed like 
other people ; he wore a mantle of camel' 3 



hair, and had a leather girdle or belt round 
his waist. 

He did not care what food he ate ; he 
thought so much of the message God had 
given him, that he did not care for his body; 
so he ate the common food that only the 
beggars of that country eat — this was locusts 
(a kind of large grasshoppers) and wild 
honey ; and he drank the water of the river. 

Crowds of people went to hear this won- 
derful preacher, who was so unlike other 
men. And John spoke to them about their 
many sins, and told them all to repent. 

By the River Jordan. 

As John the Baptist spoke to the people 
of their wicked ways, and of God's anger, 
mzsry of them began to see how wrong they 
had been ; and they confessed their sins, and 
were really sorry for all their wickedness. 

Then John baptized them. He took them 
down to the river and baptized them, as a 
sign that they were willing to give up their 
sins, and that God was willing to pardon 
them, and to wash away their sins. 

After that, John spoke to them about the 
Messiah. He told them that the Lord who 
was coming was very great and very holy— - 
so holy that even John himself was not 
worthy to stoop down and untie his shoe — .. 
and that he would baptize people with the 
Holy Spirit, thus cleansing their hearts. 

357 



858 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



But though John spoke to the people 
about the Saviour, and told them that he 
was near, he did not himself know that 
Jesus was the Saviour. So God said to 
him, When you see the Holy Spirit coming 
down from heaven, and resting upon any one, 
you will know that that one is the Son of 
God. 

Well, while John was teaching, preaching, 
and baptizing at the river Jordan, Jesus him- 
self came to be baptized. 

John was distressed that Jesus, who he 
felt was so much better than himself, should 
come like a sinner to be baptized. So he 
said, I have need to be baptized by you ; 
why then do you come to me ? 

Jesus answered, Suffer it to be so now ; 
for it is right for us to do all that is com- 
manded. When he said this, he went down 
to the river, and John baptized him. 

The Temptation. 

As soon as this was done, Jesus went up 
out of the water again, praying ; and at that 
moment a wonderful thing happened. The 
heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God 
came down like a dove from heaven, and 
rested upon Jesus. And a voice was heard, 
which said, Thou art my beloved Son, in 
thee I am well pleased. 

John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit, and 
he heard the voice ; and so then he knew 
that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. 

Directly after Jesus had been baptized, the 
Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. 
There were no houses there, nor pretty 
fields, nor gardens ; and there were no people 
there. For forty days and forty nights, 
Jesus was in that dreadful wilderness ; and 
all that long time he had nothing to eat. 

He was not quite aJone there. Some one 
else was in the wilderness — watching him, 
fearing him, and hating him. It was Satan. 



Satan knew quite well that Jesus was the 
Son of God ; and he hated him because he 
was good, and pure, and holy. But most 
of all he hated him because he knew that 
Jesus had come into the world to be the 
Saviour of sinners. So Satan thought that 
he would try and tempt Jesus to do wrong. 
For if Jesus had sinned only once, he could 
not have been our Saviour. 

When the forty days were over, Jesus 
was very hungry indeed. Satan knew that 
he was hungry ; so now he came and spoke 
to Jesus. He said, If you are God's Son, 
make these stones into bread. He wanted 
to tempt Jesus to doubt his Father's love, 
and not to wait his Father's time to feed 
him. 

Jesus only replied to Satan out of the 
Scriptures ; and this is what he said, It is 
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by the word of God. This means, that 
bread cannot keep us alive if God wills us 
to die ; and that God can keep us alive with- 
out bread, if he wills us to live. 

The Cunning Tempter. 

How different Jesus was to Adam and 
Eve ! They were in a beautiful garden, 
where they had everything they wanted ; and 
Satan made them sin by tempting them to 
eat the one thing God had forbidden. They 
were disobedient. Jesus was in a lonely 
wilderness, wanting food, and Satan tempted 
him to eat, to satisfy his hunger; but he 
would not distrust or disobey his Father. 
He was always obedient. 

Then the devil tried another way to make 
him sin. He took Jesus into the holy city, 
Jerusalem, and set him upon a very high 
part of the temple — so high that it would 
make one dreadfully giddy to look down — 
and he said to him, If you are the Son of 
God, throw yourself down from here. Do 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



359 



not be afraid. You trust your Father, and 
God will take care of you, and send his 
angels to keep you from being hurt. 

Ah, God's promise is to take care of those 
who walk in his ways and obey him. But 
if Jesus had done as Satan told him, he 
would have been doing the devil's will, and 
not God's will. So Jesus answered that 
wicked tempter again out of the Scriptures, 



all these things, and they shall be yours, if 
only you will fall down before me, and 
worship me. 

Jesus was very angry with the devil for 
daring to say such things. Go away, Satan! 
he said to him; for it is written, Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God, and him only 
shalt thou serve. 

After this the devil left him. Weak though 




THE TEMPTATION ON THE MOUNTAIN. 



It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
thy God. 

Once more the devil tried to make him 
sin. He took Jesus to the top of a very 
high mountain, and showed him all the 
kingdoms of the world, and all the beautiful 
things that are in them — all the thousands 
and thousands of people, all the gold, and 
all the treasures. 

Then he said to Jesus, I will give you 



he was in body, the Son of God was strong 
in spirit, and could not be led into sin. And 
now that the struggle was over, the angels 
of God came to bring him comfort, and 
rejoice with him over the victory. 

When Jesus had thus overcome the 
temptations of the devil, he returned to live 
again amongst men ; and at first he went back 
to the Jordan, where John had meanwhile 
continued to preach, and to baptize the people 



360 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



By this time the fame of John had reached 
the ears of the priests and Levites who served 
in the temple at Jerusalem, and they sent 
certain of their number to ask him who he 
was, and why he was thus preaching and 
baptizing. They thought he might be the 
Messiah who had come already, but John 
answered, I am not the Messiah. But there 
standeth one among you whom ye know not. 
He it is, who coming after me is preferred 
before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not 
worthy to unloose. 

What Was Said by John. 

One day, as John the Baptist saw Jesus 
walking along, he said to two men who were 
with him, Look ! There is the Lamb of God. 

When the men heard John say that, at 
once they followed Jesus, walking quietly 
behind him. Jesus knew that they were 
following, and he turned round and asked, 
Are you looking for any one? They 
answered, Master, where do you live ? Jesus 
replied kindly, Come and see. So Jesus took 
them to the house where he was staying, and 
the two men remained with him that day. 
After that, they were almost always with him ; 
for they knew that he was the Son of God. 

One of these men, whose name was 
Andrew, had a brother called Peter, and 
wanted him to follow Christ. So he went 
to find him and to tell him the wonderful 
news. We have found the Messiah, he 
said. And then he took Peter to Jesus. 
From that moment he became a loving 
disciple of Jesus. 

All these disciples — Peter, and John, and 
Andrew, and that other disciple — were fisher- 
men. They were poor men, and had to 
work hard for their daily bread. They were 
obliged to go out in their ships, sometimes 
all day, and often all night, to catch fish. 
They were very fond of their ships ; but, at 



a word from Jesus, they left them to follow 
him. 

Did they think that Jesus could make 
them rich ? It was not for this they wanted 
to be with him. They knew that Jesus was 
very poor, even poorer than themselves. He 
had no home of his own ; but the disciples 
had homes where they might always live. 

Yet they preferred to follow their Master ; 
though by doing so they were often very 
weary and hungry. For sometimes it hap- 
pened that such crowds followed Jesus, that 
they had not time to eat : and sometimes 
they were far from any town or village, and 
had a long way to go to buy bread. But 
sometimes people invited them into their 
own houses, and gave them food. 

The day after Peter had joined the other 
disciples, Jesus was walking further on, to 
go to another p/ace, when he met a man 
whose name was Philip. Come with me, 
Jesus said. Without a question and without 
a doubt, Philip followed him ; for he, too, 
knew that Jesus was the Son of God. 

"Come and See." 

Philip had a friend called Nathanael, and 
he wanted to bring him to Christ. So he 
went to him, and said, We have found Jesus 
of Nazareth, who the Scriptures tell us is 
the Son of God. But Nathanael said, 
Nazareth is a very bad wicked place ; can 
anything good come from there? Come 
and see, was Philip's answer. 

So they went both together. And as 
Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said, Here 
is one who is very truthful and honest. 

Nathanael was surprised to hear Jesus say 
this, and he asked in wonder, How is it that 
you know me? 

Jesus answered, Before Philip called you, 
when you were under the fig-tree, I saw yoiu 
Nathanael did not doubt any longer. He 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



361 



exclaimed, Master, you are the Son of God, 
you are the King of Israel ! 

Jesus said to him, Do you believe just 
because I said I saw you under the fig-tree ? 
You shall see much greater wonders than 
these. One day you shall see heaven open, 
and the angels of God ascending and 
descending upon the Son of Man. And so 
Nathanael also became a disciple. 



not return alone. Some men are with him ; 
they are the five disciples of whom you have 
already heard. Mary's heart must have 
been full of joy when she found that at last 
there were people who were beginning to 
believe in Jesus, and to call him the Son of 
God. 

Now you are to read of the first miracle 
that he ever did. A miracle is any won- 




THE WATER TURNED INTO WINE AT CANA OF GALILEE. 



Jesus as we have seen, had left his home in 
Nazareth to be baptized by John in the river 
Jordan. This had been done some weeks 
ago, and he had never been home since. 
But now he was going to return to Nazareth 
once more. 

Two months have passed away, and 
once again he is in the little town where he 
had lived for so many years. But he does 



derful thing that is done that no man can 
do, but only God. 

In a house a few miles away from Naza- 
reth there was a wedding, and the mother 
of Jesus was there. In that country a grand 
feast was always given at the time of a 
marriage, and this feast often lasted several 
days. Jesus was invited, and his disciples, 
to the marriage feast, and they went. 



362 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



The people who gave the feast were poor, 
and they could not afford much wine ; so it 
happened that after a little while it was all 
gone. What were they to do to get more ? 

The mother of Jesus knew that there was 
one sitting at the table who could help 
them, and so she just simply said to her 
blessed Son, They have no wine. But Jesus 
answered her, What have I to do with you 
in this matter ? The proper time is not yet 
come for me to work. 

Jesus always waited his Father's time, and 
not one moment before the right time would 
he do anything. He was as patient in wait- 
ing as he was patient in love and in suffering. 

Mary felt quite sure that he was going to 
help them, so she turned to the servants, and 
said to them, Whatsoever he tells you to do, 
do it at once. 

There were some large stone jars in the 
room, used for holding water. Jesus said 
unto the servants, Fill those water-pots with 
water. And they filled them quite full, up 
to the very top. Then Jesus said, Now 
pour out some in a cup, and take it to the 
ruler of the feast. 

More than Enough for the Guests. 

The servants did as they were told ; and 
when the ruler of the feast had tasted it he 
tcund that it was no longer water, but wine 
— the very best wine he had ever tasted. 

But how could that be? Jesus had 
changed into wine all the water that was in 
those large stone jars. So now there was 
enough, and more than enough, for all the 
guests. 

The ruler of the feast could not under- 
stand where this wine, that was so much 
better than what they had been drinking, 
had come from. So he called the master of 
the house, and said to him, Why did you not 
ive us this good wine before ? 



But the master of the house did not know 
how it had come ; he only knew that all he 
had was gone. But the servants knew all 
about it, and now they told the whole story : 
how Jesus had made them fill the great stone 
jars with water, and how he had turned all 
the water into wine. 

The people were very much astonished at 
the wonderful thing their Lord had done ; 
and it made them believe all the more firmly 
that he was the Son of God. And this is 
why Jesus did miracles ; to show his power 
and glory, and to show people that he was 
the Christ. Yet in spite of the wonderful 
things he did, many people would not 
believe in him. 

Jesus at the Passover. 

Very soon after the first miracle, Jesus 
went to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. 
You remember what a veiy great number of 
people used to flock to the holy city to keep 
this yearly feast. They came from all parts ; 
from places a long way off, and even from 
other countries. 

The city was crowded. Every street 
every house was full; and hundreds o. 
people had to make for themselves little 
tents of mats and branches of trees, to 
shelter them during the night because there 
was no room for them in any house. 

Then, besides all the many people, there 
were hundreds and hundreds of cattle, sheep 
and oxen, driven into the city for sacrifice, 
and doves and pigeons too, were brought in 
great numbers ; for these birds were what 
the poor offered to God in sacrifice — those 
who could not afford to offer a sheep or a 
lamb. 

You may imagine how bright, and busy, 
and noisy it was in the streets of Jerusalem 
at that time ; for it was a time of rejoicing, 
and of thanking God for past mercies. 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



363 



So Jesus went into the temple to join in 
the solemn services there. The temple was 
a most beautiful building, far grander than 
anything you or I have ever seen. But what 
a sight met his eye ! 

The grand entrance-court of God's house 
ts-as mil of cattle, and crowded with men who 



in the inner part of the temple, where th£ 

services were going on. 

Four hundred years before, it had beet 
prophesied — or foretold — in the Scriptures^ 
that one day the Lord would suddenly come 
into his temple, to cleanse and to purify it 
That time had now come. 




THE MONEY-CHANGERS DRIVEN FROM THE TEMPLE. 



were buying and selling them ! Other men, 
with cages full of pigeons and doves, offering 
them for sale! There were other men 
sitting before tables, on which were piled 
up heaps of money ; these people were called 
money-changers. And all the noise of the 
men's voices, of the sheep bleating, and of 
the oxen lowing, could be distinctly heard 



Jesus was very angry at all he saw. He 
could not bear that his Father's house should 
be so dishonored ; and in his holy anger he 
made a scourge, or whip, of small cords to 
chase out all those who were so profaning it. 

First he drove out all the sheep and the 
oxen, and those who were selling them. 
Next he went to where the money-changer* 



364 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



were sitting, and he threw down all their 
tables, and upset the money that was piled 
up on each, leaving the men to grope about 
on the floor for all the coin which had been 
scattered, and was rolling about. 

Then he said to those who sold the doves, 
Take these things away ; do not make my 
Father's house a place for buying and selling. 
No one dared resist him. Though they 
hated him for what he had done, yet they 
felt in their hearts that he was right, and 
they were afraid of him. 

When the proud priests and Pharisees 
heard what Jesus had done, they did not 
dare complain ; for they, too, knew quite well 
that they had done wickedly to allow such 
deeds to take place in the holy temple. 

They Call for His Authority. 

Presently, however, when they had begun 
to recover themselves a little, some of the 
Jews came to him to ask by what authority he 
did these things. The old prophets had 
done many wonderful works, Samuel had 
brought down a storm of thunder and rain, 
Elijah had called fire from heaven to destroy 
his enemies, and they demanded of Jesus, if 
he was indeed the Messiah, that he would 
work some miracle as a sign, that they might 
see it and believe in him. 

But Jesus would not do as they wished. 
Often after this he was pressed by the people 
to give them a sign, but he always made the 
same answer, that they were to look at his 
actions and see if they were the deeds of one 
who had come from God. 

Instead of working any miracle, he now 
said to them, Destroy this temple, and in 
three days I will raise it up. 

The Jews answered, Forty and six years 
was this temple in building, and wilt thou 
raise it up in three days ? 

They did not understand his words, but 



afterwards, when he had risen again ifom the 
dead, after lying in the grave for three days } 
his disciples remembered what he had said, 
and knew that he had been speaking, not of 
the material temple of stone, but of his own 
body. He meant to say that, even if that 
beautiful temple, to which men came from all 
parts of the world, were to be destroyed; it 
would not really matter, for that he had 
come to teach that each man might build in 
his own heart a temple for the Holy Spirit 
of God, which could not be destroyed even 
by death itself. 

Whilst Jesus was at Jerusalem, he received 
one night a visit from a Pharisee named 
Nicodemus. 

The Pharisees were the most important 
men amongst the Jews, for they were the 
religious teachers of the people, and they 
passed the greater part of their lives in 
studying the Law of God, and in laying 
down rules by which the more ignorant 
might know how it was to be understood. 

Wanted to Be Seen of Men. 

They gained the esteem of the people by 
making a great show of religion, but all their 
good works were done to be seen of men, 
and not from any true love to God. As was 
the custom in the East, they said their 
prayers standing, and this they did at the 
corners of the streets, so that all the passers- 
by could see them ; and when they gave 
alms also, they took care to do it in such a 
way as to draw the attention of everyone to 
their generous action. 

They were very strict about obedience to 
the exact words of the Law, but they acted 
for the most part in a manner that was 
entirely contrary to the true spirit of religion. 

One of the commandments of the Law 
was that the tenth part of all possessions 
was to be offered to God, and the Pharisees 



11l i! PP' T ' : !'■ -r^'-^^v^^B 




CHRIST TALKING TO NICODtLMUS. 



36/, 



366 



WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 



carried this out with such minuteness that 
they would go into their gardens and dig up 
some little plant, such as mint, in order that 
they might divide it into ten portions and 
offer the tenth to God; but the more import- 
ant matters, such as justice, mercy, and 
faith, they were apt to neglect altogether. 

How They Treated Parents. 

Many of the rules, too, that they laid 
down for the guidance of the people were 
such as could only lead them into error, and 
they often explained the words of the Law 
in a way that was by no means in accordance 
with their true meaning. 

For instance, it was written in the Law, 
Honor thy father and thy mother, and the 
Jews rightly held that no son who truly 
honored his father and mother would allow 
them to starve in their old age; but the 
Pharisees taught that if the son chose to say 
of his money, It is a gift — that is, if he 
preferred to give it either towards beautifying 
the temple, or for buying animals for sacri- 
fice, or for building a synagogue, or for 
anything else that was considered to be the 
service of God — then he was not to be 
expected to do anything more for his father 
or his mother. 

There were, however, some good and 
sincere men amongst the Pharisees, and one 
of those was the man who had come to visit 
Jesus by night. He had waited till it was 
dark, for he did not wish to be seen ; but he 
had heard about Jesus, and desired to learn 
from him, feeling sure that he was a teacher 
come from God. 

Jesus told him that he had indeed been 
pent by God, and had come to establish the 



kingdom of God upon earth, and he said 
that no one could enter into that kingdom 
except by beginning a new life. Twice over 
he repeated the solemn words, Verily, verily, 
I say unto thee, except a man be born again 
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

Sent to Teach the Truth. 

Then he went on to say that God had sent 
him into the world to teach the truth, and 
that those who loved the truth would believe 
in him and be saved, but that those who 
loved rather to remain in darkness, doing 
evil deeds, would perish. It would be as it 
was with the Israelites in the wilderness, who 
were saved by loo^'ng towards the brazen 
serpent. 

That had happened long ago, when the 
Israelites were journeying through the 
wilderness from Egypt to the land of 
Canaan. They had murmured against the 
Lord, and he punished them by sending 
fiery serpents among them to destroy them. 
Then they cried to the Lord to deliver them, 
and the Lord told Moses, their leader, to 
make a serpent of brass and set it on a pole, 
that all the people might see it. If one of 
the fiery serpents had bitten any man, when 
he looked upon the serpent of brass he 
became healed of the wound. And so there 
was life for a look of faith. 

So shall it be again, said Jesus, For as 
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 
even so shall the Son of Man be lifted up, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have eternal life. For God so 
loved the world that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have eternal life. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



The People of Samaria — The Woman at Jacob's Well — The Water of Life — In the 
Synagogue at Nazareth — Hatred of the Jews — Healing the Son of a Nobleman — 
Casting Out a Devil — Wonderful Cures — Jesus Calls Peter and Andrew — Dis- 
courses upon the Law and Providence — A Lesson from Birds and Flowers — House 
Built on the Rock — A Leper Healed — The Widow's Son Raised to Life. 




ESUS returned to the banks of 
the Jordan when the Feast of 
the Passover was ended, and 
there he continued for some 
time with his disciples, calling 
upon the people to repent of 
their sins and prepare for the 
kingdom of heaven. But before long there 
came to him the sad news that John had 
been seized by the soldiers of King Herod, 
and cast into prison. This Herod was not 
so wicked as his father, who had slain the 
little boys of Bethlehem, but he was far 
from being a good king, and when John 
told him that he also needed to repent of 
his sins, he was very angry, and shut him 
up in a gloomy dungeon from which he 
never came out alive. 

The disciples of John went to Jesus and 
told him that their master had been cast 
into prison, and they said that unless he left 
that part of the country the same fate would 
doubtless overtake him also. Jesus yielded 
therefore to their entreaties, and determined 
to go and preach in the cities of Galilee, 
beginning first of all with the town of Naza- 
reth, where he had been brought up. 

Between the province of Judaea, where 

Jesus had been preaching, and the province 

of Galilee, which was at the north of the land 

of Israel, was a district called Samaria. 

The people of Samaria were not of the 



same race as the Israelites. Hundreds of 
years before this time, the country had been 
conquered by the king of Assyria, who made 
the whole land desolate, and took away the 
children of Israel into captivity. Then, be- 
cause there was no one left to dwell in the 
cities of Samaria, he brought some strange 
people to occupy them, who worshipped 
other gods, and when by-and-by the Israel- 
ites returned to their own homes, they found 
'"lese strangers settled in it. 

They Could Not Agree. 

This vexed them very much, and instead 
of making friends with the strangers, they 
regarded them as their deadly enemies. 
They could not get rid of them, but they 
did all they could to vex and annoy them, 
and the Samaritans in their turn did every 
thing in their power to annoy the Jews. 

One of the things that the Samaritans did 
was to build a temple of their own on Mount 
Gerizim, one of the mountains of Samaria, 
instead of going up to worship at the temple 
of Jerusalem, and they often refused to give 
any food or shelter to the men of Galilee 
when they passed through their country. 

In consequence of this, the men of Galilee 
usually went far out of their way in order to 
avoid passing through Samaria, and the 
Jewish teachers taught that it was degrading 
to accept any service or even to buy food 

367 




JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA, 



368 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



369 



from a Samaritan. But Jesus would not 
•carry on the quarrel. He loved all men, and 
instead of going out of his way to avoid the 
Samaritans he was glad to pass through their 
country. 

He travelled on foot, as he always did, 
and it happened that one day at about noon 
he reached the town of Sychar, near which 
there was a well of water. The well had 
seats all round it, and was shaded by a roof 
which kept the water cool by protecting it 
from the fierce rays of the eastern sun. 

It was now summer, and Jesus, being 
wearied with his journey, sat resting upon 
the well, while his disciples went into the 
town to buy food. He wished for some of 
the fresh, cool water, but the well was deep, 
and he had nothing to draw with. Presently 
lie saw a Samaritan woman coming towards 
him with a pitcher in her hand, and asked 
her to give him to drink. 

She was astonished that he should expect 
any kindness from her, and said, How is it 
that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, 
who am a woman of Samaria ? 

What He Answered. 

Jesus answered, If thou knewest the gift 
•of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, 
Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked 
of him, and he would have given thee living 
water. 

She did not understand his meaning, but 
she soon perceived that he was a great 
prophet, and then she asked him to answer 
a question that had often perplexed her. 
There had long been a dispute between her 
countrymen and the Jews as to whether God 
could be worshipped in the temple on Mount 
Gerizim, or only in the temple at Jerusalem, 
and she wanted to know what party was 
in the right. She said, Our fathers wor- 
shipped in this mountain, but ye say that in 
24 



Jerusalem is the place where men ought to 
worship. 

Jesus answered her, Woman, believe me, 
the hour cometh when ye shall neither on 
this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship 
the Father. God is a spirit, and they that 
worship him must worship him in spirit and 
in truth. It was the same thing that he had 
said to the Jews at the feast, only a short 
time before, that the true worship of God 
does not consist in going to. this place or to 
that, but in entering into communion with 
the Spirit of God. 

He Tells Who He Is. 

The woman said, I know that the Messiah 
is coming, who is called the Christ. When 
he is come, he will tell us all things. 

Then said Jesus, I that speak unto thee 
am he. 

At these unexpected words, the woman 
put down her pitcher and ran back into the 
city to call her friends and neighbors. 

While the woman was telling her neigh- 
bors to come to Jesus, the disciples tried to 
make their master take some food. Master, 
eat, they said to him. But Jesus was not 
hungry now. 

He had been both hungry, and thirsty, 
and tired before ; but he cared so much for 
the poor woman to whom he had been 
speaking, and he wanted so much to make 
her forsake her sins and love his Father, 
that he forgot all about his food, and he did 
not want any now. So when the disciples 
begged him to eat, he said to them, I have 
meat to eat that you do not know about. 

Has any one brought him any food to 
eat ? The disciples asked each other, wonder- 
ing. Then Jesus explained to them what 
he meant. My meat is to do my Father's 
will, and to finish his work. More than his 
food, more than his rest, more than his life, 



370 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



he loved to finish his Father's will at all 
times. 

And now the Samaritans came flocking 
to him out of the city ; and as Jesus sat on 
the well he taught them. 

As they listened to him they forgot he 
was a Jew ; and, as they heard his gracious 
words, they longed to have him always with 
them, and they begged him to stay with 
them. So Jesus remained two days in the 
city. 

As he preached, a great many people 
believed in him. Some believed because of 
what the woman had told them when she 
said, he has told me all the things that I 
have ever done. 

And many more believed in him because 
of what they heard him say ; and they said 
to the woman, Now we believe, not because 
of what you told us, but because we have 
heard him ourselves, and know that he is 
indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 

After leaving the city of the Samaritans, 
Jesus continued his journey to Nazareth, the 
town where he had been brought up ; and 
when the Sabbath day came round, he went 
into the synagogue, according to his usual 
custom. 

Reading the Sacred Roll. 

Besides the temple at Jerusalem, where 
the Jews met together from time to time to 
worship God, they had in most towns a 
synagogue or meeting-place, where they 
assembled every Sabbath day. 

The sacred books of the Law and the 
Prophets were written on long rolls of parch- 
ment, and any one who chose might come 
forward to read the portion appointed for 
the day, and speak a few words to the people, 
On this Sabbath, Jesus rose up, and taking 
into his hands the roll of the prophet Isaiah, 
he opened it, and read these words : The 



Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he 
hath annointed me to preach the gospel to 
the poor. He hath sent me to heal the 
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the 
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, 
to set at liberty them that are bruised, to 
preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

He wound up the roll again, and sitting 
down in the raised seat reserved for whoever 
had something to say to the people, he be- 
gan to tell them that these words, which 
had been spoken so long ago, were now 
about to be fulfilled. He said that the king- 
dom of heaven was going to be established 
upon earth, and that whoever would follow 
him, might have a place in it. 

All Fixed Their Eyes on Him. 

He told them, too, that this kingdom was 
not one in which the rich and the great and 
the powerful would have all the advantages^ 
but that those who were called to it were 
especially the poor and the despised, the 
weary and the heavy-laden. 

As he spoke, the eyes of all the congrega- 
tion were fastened upon him. They all knew 
him, for till lately he had been living in their 
midst ; and they said one to another, Is not 
this Joseph's son? as they heard with wonder 
the gracious words that proceeded out of his 
mouth. 

But as Jesus went on to tell them more 
about the kingdom, they were not so well 
pleased, for he said that all men might enter 
into it — not only the Jews, but people of 
other nations also, whom the Jews hated and 
despised, calling them all alike by the name 
of Gentiles or strangers. He reminded them, 
moreover, of two stories from the history of 
their own country, which showed that, even 
in the time past, the Gentiles had sometimes 
been more ready to accept the gifts of God 
than the Jews themselves. 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



371 



The first story was about the great prophet 
Elijah. He lived in the reign of Ahab, a 
wicked king, whose sins were so great that, 
as a punishment, the heaven was dried up 
and no rain fell for three years and six 
months, so that there arose a mighty famine 
in the land. 

Elijah left the land of Israel, and journeyed 
into Phenicia till he came to Zarephath, a 
city of the Gentiles. As he drew near to 
the gate of the city, he saw a poor widow 
woman gathering sticks, and asked her to 
give him something to eat. But even here 
the famine was very severe, and she answered 
him, I have but a handful of meal in a barrel 
and a little oil in a cruse, and now I am 
gathering a few sticks that I may make a 
cake and cook it for me and my son, that 
we may eat it and then die. 

She Shared Her Last Meal. 

But Elijah said, Verily, I say unto thee, 
the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither 
shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that 
the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. 

When the poor woman heard these words, 
she received him gladly, and shared with 
him the food of which she had expected to 
make her last meal ; and behold, it was as 
the prophet had said — the barrel of meal 
wasted not, neither did the oil fail, until at 
last the rain poured down again in torrents, 
and the famine was at an end. 

The other story was about Elisha, another 
great prophet. It happened in his time that 
the Israelites were at war with the Syrians, 
who conquered them, and took away as one 
of their prisoners a little Jewish girl, whom 
they gave as a slave to the wife of Naaman, 
their captain. 

Now Naaman was a brave man and a 
great general, but he was afflicted with a 
terrible disease which no one could cure. 



But when the little servant-girl heard of it 
she said, If my master would go to the 
prophet who is in Israel, he would recover 
him of his disease. 

So Naaman set out, with a number of his 
servants, and came to the prophet Elisha. 
who told him to go and bathe himself seven 
times in the river Jordan. This he did, and 
after the seventh time the disease left him 
altogether, and he was quite well. 

These two stories Jesus told to the people 
of Nazareth to show them that many of the 
Gentiles were ready to be taught, and to 
listen gladly to the good news of the king- 
dom of God. There were many widows in 
Israel, he said, in the days of Elijah the 
prophet, but unto none of them was Elijah 
sent, save only to a woman of Zarephath, in 
the land of the Gentiles. And there were 
many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, 
but none of them was cleansed save Naaman 
the Syrian. 

The Nobleman's Son. 

The people of Nazareth had gradually 
become more and more angry, and when 
Jesus spoke as if the Gentiles were as near 
to the kingdom of heaven as themselves, 
they could no longer contain their indigna- 
tion. With one accord they rose up, and 
having thrust him out of the synagogue, 
they dragged him to the brow of the hill 
whereon their city was built, that they might 
cast him down headlong. But Jesus avoided 
their fury, and passing through the midst of 
them, he went his way. 

The people of Nazareth were too ignorant 
and too selfish to receive the good news he 
had to bring them. He therefore left them, 
and went away to Capernaum. On the way 
he halted at the little village of Cana, where 
he had been present at the marriage feast, 
and had changed the water into wine. 



372 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



Now it happened that in the city of Caper- 
naum, which was not many miles distant, 
there was a certain nobleman, whose son 
was sick and ready to die. It was in vain 
that the sorrow-stricken father sent for all 
the best physicians that could be obtained — 
the boy only became worse and worse. 

Then, in his distress, he remembered how 
some little time ago there had come to the 
town a stranger who had cured many that 
were sick and afflicted, and who had also 
wrought a wondrous miracle in the village 
of Cana. He began to inquire where Jesus 
could be found, and when he heard that he 
was again at Cana, he determined to go and 
ask for his help in this time of trouble. 

An Anxious Father. 

He set out without delay, and when he 
had come to Jesus, he besought him with 
many entreaties that he would return with 
him to Capernaum and heal his son, for he 
was at the point of death. 

Jesus did not go with him, for that was 
not needed, but by a single word he turned 
the poor father's sorrow into joy. He said 
to him, Thy son liveth, and the nobleman 
believed his word, and went back calm and 
happy, feeling sure that all was well. 

Meanwhile, in his house at Capernaum, 
there was great rejoicing, for at the very 
moment when Jesus spoke the words, Thy 
son liveth, the boy began to recover 

The nobleman was one of the courtiers 
of King Herod, and as he was a rich man 
he had many slaves, for in those days it was 
not thought wrong to buy and sell human 
beings into slavery. He was a kind master, 
and his slaves who loved him, and who had 
sorrowed with him in his distress, were eager 
to tell him the good news of his son's 
recovery. 

They set out to meet him the next morn- 



ing, and ran towards him, as soon as he 
came in sight, saying, Thy son liveth. 

Then the father inquired at what hour he 
began to amend, and they said, Yesterday, 
at the seventh hour, the fever left him. 

It was at the very hour at which Jesus 
had spoken the words, Thy son liveth; and 
when the father told his household how the 
word of Jesus had been able to cure his son, 
they also believed in the great Prophet that 
had arisen in Israel. 

The town of Capernaum was built upon the 
shore of the beautiful Sea of Galilee, and all 
round it was a country so rich and lovely that it 
was sometimes called the garden of the Lord. 
Flowers blossomed in the fields and gardens, 
leafy trees gave a pleasant shelter from the 
fierce heat, and the lake, whose waters were 
clear as crystal, reflected back a thousand 
colors as it sparkled and rippled in the sun- 
light. 

A Town on the Lake Shore. 

Capernaum was the home of Peter and 
Andrew and Philip; and now that he had 
been rejected by the people of Nazareth, 
Jesus resolved that he also would make it 
his home, so far as he had one. From this 
time he called Capernaum his own city, and 
when he was there he lodged in the house 
of Peter, who was a married man and had a 
house of his own. 

It was a busy place, for the lake was full 
of fish, and a great number of the inhabitants 
[ were occupied in catching the fish, and in 
packing them up and sending them away 
for sale. It was also near to the town of 
Tiberias, where King Herod held his court, 
and to four of the great roads that led from 
one part of the country to another. These 
all met near the Lake of Galilee, so that the 
town was constantly full of strangers passing 
through it. 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



373 



On the first Sabbath after he had come to 
Capernaum, Jesus entered into the synagogue 
and taught the people. They listened with 
astonishment as he told them the good news 
of the kingdom of God ; but presently he was 
interrupted by a voice which seemed to come 
from among the people, and which cried out, 
What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus 
of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy 
us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy 
One ot God. 

In those days people were sometimes 
ifflicted with a terrible disease. Unclean 
"Spirits or devils took possession of their 
bodies, and obliged them to do whatever 
they required. When a man was possessed 
with a devil, he had no longer control over 
his own actions; sometimes the devil threw 
him into the water and sometimes into the 
fire, sometimes it made him blind and some- 
times dumb, and often it spoke through his 
mouth with words that were not his. 

The Devil Went out of Him. 

The voice that had interrupted Jesus, 
proceeded from a man who was possessed 
with an unclean spirit. Jesus paused in his 
teaching, and fastening his eyes upon him, 
he said to the devil, Hold thy peace, and 
come out of him. 

Then the poor man was convulsed with a 
terrible struggle. For some minutes he lay 
upon the ground, crying out and foaming 
at the mouth, but presently all was still. 
The devil had gone out of him, and when 
Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him 
up, he was quite well, and restored to his 
right mind. 

All the people marvelled greatly, and they 
said, What is this ? With authority he com- 
mandeth even the unclean spirits, and they 
obey him. 

When the service of the synagogue was 



ended, Jesus went home with Simon Peter; 
but on reaching the house, they found that 
Peter's wife's mother was stricken with a 
fever, and could not rise from her bed. 
Jesus at once went to her, and taking her 
by the hand, he raised her up. Immediately 
her strength returned to her, and she rose 
and set food before them. 

The news of this wonderful cure, and of 
the healing of the poor man possessed by the 
devil soon spread through Capernaum, and 
all who had friends that were sick or afflicted, 
longed to bring them to Jesus, that he might 
lay his hands upon them. 

Wonderful Cures. 

But it was the Sabbath day, and the Jews 
were very particular about the keeping of 
the Sabbath — no one was allowed to travel 
more than a certain distance, and no burden 
of any sort might be carried. They were 
obliged therefore to wait until the setting of 
the sun, by which time the Sabbath was 
considered to be over. 

Never before had the sun gone down upon 
such a scene as was witnessed that summer 
evening at Capernaum. All along the street 
leading to the house of Peter were laid beds 
occupied by poor sick people; and besides 
these was a crowd of others, who were suf- 
fering from all kinds of diseases and infirmi- 
ties, some of them crying out with pain or 
madness. 

One alone amongst them all was calm 
and well, even he ot whom the prophet said, 
Himself took our infirmities and bare our 
sicknesses. He passed up and down among 
the sad crowd, and as he laid his hands first 
on one and then on another, the poor man or 
woman became perfectly well, and departed, 
glorifying God. 

It was late that night before Jesus could 
go to rest, and even then he was unable to 




" FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN, 



374 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



375 



sleep. A great while before it was day, he 
rose up and, leaving the city, departed co a 
desert place that he might be alone with his 
heavenly Father. 

Jesus loved all men and all things. He 
loved to look at the flowers in their beauty, 
at the cornfields ripening for the harvest, at 
the birds flying above his head. He loved, 
too, to watch the occupations of men, to 
look at the sower sowing his seed, at the 
children playing their games in the streets, 
at the fishermen unloading their boats, heaped 
with silver-coated fish. But most of all he 
loved to be quite alone in some solitary 
place, that he might think about God, and 
pray to the Father in heaven. 

He was in a Desert Place. 

When the day dawned in Capernaum, 
and the city began to awake, many of those 
who had not been healed on the previous 
evening, came to the house of Peter to seek 
for Jesus, but he was not there. 

Then Peter and some of his friends went 
to look for him, and at last they found him 
in the desert place, and told him that all 
men were seeking for him and were anxious 
that he should remain amongst them. But 
Jesus answered, I must preach the kingdom 
of God to other cities also, for therefore am 
I sent. 

He agreed, however, to remain one day 
longer in Capernaum, and returned thither 
with Peter. When they had come to the 
shore, Jesus saw John, the son of Zebedee, 
whom he had brought back with him from 
the banks of the Jordan. He was in a boat 
with his father Zebedee and his brother 
James and some hired servants, mending 
their nets, for they were fishermen. 

Jesus went up to them and told them that 
he was going to preach in some of the other 
cities of Galilee, and he said to the two 



brothers, Follow me. They arose immedi- 
ately, left the boat and their father, and 
followed him. 

Later on in the day, he saw Peter and 
Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they 
also were fishermen, and he said unto them, 
Follow me. Then they in like manner 
arose, left all, and followed him. 

The next day, Jesus again went down to 
the shore to teach the people, and as they 
pressed round him to hear his words, he 
entered into the boat of Simon, and begged 
him to push it out a little from the shore, 
that there might be some small space be- 
tween himself and the multitude. Then he 
sat down in the boat and began to teach, 
and the people stood or sat upon the shore 
and listened to his words. 

When he had finished speaking, the mul- 
titude went away to their own homes, and 
Jesus said to Peter, Launch out now into 
the deep sea, and let down your nets for a 
draught. 

Peter answered, Master, we have toiled all 
night and have taken nothing; nevertheless, 
at thy word, I will let down the net. 

A Great Draught of Fishes. 

This he did, and now all the fish in the 
lake seemed eager to be caught. In a few 
moments the net was filled so full that it 
was in danger of breaking, and Peter had to 
beckon to his brother and some friends who 
were in another boat, to come and help 
them. Both the boats were soon so heavily 
laden with fish that they sank down quite 
low in the water. 

When Peter saw that wonderful sight, he 
fell upon his knees at the feet of his Master, 
and cried out, Depart from me, for I am a 
sinful man, O Lord. 

He was astonished and overcome at wit- 
nessing the power of Jesus, and he felt that 



376 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



he, a sinful man, was not worthy to be the 
chosen friend of one who could do such 
mighty works. But Jesus said to him, Fear 
not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 

After this, Jesus left Capernaum with his 
disciples, and passed through many of the 
cities of Galilee, healing the sick and afflicted, 
and telling the people that the kingdom of 
heaven was at hand. 

Great multitudes followed him from place 
to place, and when he saw the people gath- 
ered round him, he felt that the time had 
come when he must teach them what was 
meant by the kingdom of heaven of which 
he had been speaking so much. It was 
something quite new that he had to tell them, 
something grander and nobler and higher 
than even the best thoughts of the best men 
who had ever yet lived — so high indeed that 
many would be incapable of appreciating its 
grandeur and its beauty, and would turn 
away and reject it. 

What He Came For. 

It was a very solemn moment in the life of 
Jesus, and before speaking to the people he 
went away alone to a mountain apart, that 
he might pray and hold communion with 
God. Not only to the multitude of Galilean 
peasants was he going to speak, but to all 
men who have since lived, or who will live 
to the end of time. 

He had told his disciples that after a cer- 
tain interval they might bring the multitude 
to join him on the mountain side, and at the 
appointed time they gathered round him. 
Then he opened his mouth and began to 
teach them, and at the first words that he 
uttered a hush of astonishment fell upon the 
listening crowd. 

Then he went on to tell them that they 
were the children of God, the Father in 
heaven, who is good and kind to all, even to 



the wicked and the unthankful, and that they 
must strive to become perfect as he is perfect,, 
and to glorify their heavenly Father by let- 
ting the light of their good works shine before 
men on the earth. 

He said that he had come, not to destroy 
the Law of Moses and the words of the pro- 
phets, which from their youth up they had 
been taught to obey, but to fulfil them— to 
teach men how to understand and obey them, 
in a higher and truer sense than ever before. 
Not only were they to refrain from doing 
the wicked actions which the Law forbade,, 
but even the very thoughts of their hearts.; 
must be pure and free from sin. 

How to Treat Our Enemies. 

He told them, moreover, that if God was; 
their Father and the Father of all, then all 
men must be their brethren. The old Law 
had said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and' 
hate thine enemy, and Thou shalt take an 
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 
But now they were to love even their 
enemies, to do good to those that hated 
them, to bless those that cursed them, to* 
pray for those that treated them badly. 

If anyone did them an injury, they were 
to bear it patiently, and return good for 
evil; if anyone asked them for something,, 
they were to give it gladly. Above all, they 
were to judge mercifully, despairing of no 
man, condemning no man, extending their 
love and their kindness to all, even as their 
heavenly Father, who maketh his sun to 
shine upon the evil and the good, and send- 
eth rain on the just and the unjust. 

With regard to their worship of God, they 
were to be very careful to avoid the sin of 
the hypocrites, who made long prayers and 
gave alms in public places that they might 
have the praise of men. The prayer which 
God approved, he told them, was the secret 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



377 



and sincere prayer of the heart, and in order 
that they might know how to approach God, 
he taught them a prayer which from that 
day to this has been used by men of all 
nations and tongues. It is the first prayer 
that little children learn, and the last that 
old men say upon their dying beds. It is 
called the Lord's prayer. 

A Lesson from the Birds. 

Then he went on to say that, when they 
had prayed to God, and asked him to pro- 
vide their daily food and enable them to do 
their daily duty, they need have no anxious 
thoughts concerning the future. Behold, he 
said, the birds of the air. They sow not, 
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, 
and your heavenly Father feedeth them. 
Are ye not much better than they? 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, 
and yet I say unto you that even Solomon 
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
these. Be not, therefore, anxious, saying, 
What shall we eat ? Or, What shall we drink ? 
Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But 
seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness, and all these things shall be 
added unto you. 

Lastly, he told them that whatsoever things 
they desired that men should do unto them, 
even so must they do unto others, and that 
this was the true obedience to the Law and 
the Prophets. This, he said, was the only 
path by which they could enter the kingdom 
of heaven, and he bade them beware of false 
prophets who would come and tell them 
that they might walk thither upon a broader 
and easier road. 

Enter ye in, he said, by the narrow gate; 
for wide is the gate and broad is the way 
that leadeth to destruction, and many there 
be that go in thereat. But narrow is the 



gate and straitened the way that leadeth unto 
life, and few there be that find it. Not every- 
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he 
that doeth the will of my Father which is in 
heaven. 

And then, in order to impress it still fur 
ther upon their minds, he told them a story 
of two men who both desired to build a 
house. One thought only of doing what 
was easy and pleasant, and he built his 
house on some soft sandy ground by the 
sea-shore, where there was no difficulty 
about making a foundation. The other 
went farther away from the sea, and built 
his house upon a piece of rocky ground, 
where the foundations were hard to dig, but 
when they were made they were strong. 

The Sandy Foundation. 

Everyone, therefore, said Jesus, that hear- 
eth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, 
shall be likened unto a wise man who built 
his house upon the rock. And the rain 
descended, and the floods came, and the 
winds blew, and beat upon that house, and 
it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. 

And everyone that heareth these sayings 
of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened 
unto a foolish man that built his house upon 
the sand. And the rain descended, and the 
floods came, and the winds blew, and smote 
upon that house, and it fell, and great was 
the fall thereof. 

The multitude listened with astonishment 
to the teaching of Jesus. He teacheth with 
authority, they said one to another, and not 
as do the Scribes. It was a new doctrine, 
unlike anything they had ever heard before, 
and it seemed to raise them into a higher 
region of purity and holiness. They could 
not bear to lose sight of the great Teacher, 
who spoke as no man had ever yet spoken. 




FALL OF THE HOUSE BUILT ON SAND. 



378 



JESUS RETURNS 

and when he came down from the mountain, 
they still followed after him. 

It was soon after this, that as he was about 
to enter into a certain city, behold, there 
came a leper, and worshipped him, saying, 
Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 

A leper was a man who was afflicted with 
a very dreadful disease that affected his skin, 
and made it horrible even to look at him. 
The disease could, moreover, be easily con- 
veyed from one person to another, and for 
these reasons, those who were afflicted with 
it were obliged to live apart, far away from 
all other people. No on^ would touch 
them, or even go near them, and if they had 
occasion to enter a town, they were obliged 
to cover their heads and faces, and cry out, 
Unclean, unclean! So that everyone might 
avoid them. 

Sent Him to the Priest. 

But Jesus was not afraid to touch the poor 
leper who came and threw himself at his 
feet. He took him by the hand and raised 
him up, and in answer to his cry, Lord, if 
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean, he 
said, I will; be thou clean. 

As he spoke the words, the whole appear- 
ance of the man changed. The disease left 
him, and his skin became like that of other 
people. 

The Jewish Law, which had been given 
to the people by Moses, commanded that, 
if ever a leper recovered from his disease, he 
must go and show himself to the priest be- 
fore he could be allowed to live again amongst 
other men; and if the priest were satisfied 
that it was a real recovery, then the man 
was to offer a sacrifice of a pair of birds. 
Jesus said to the man whom he had cured, 
See thou tell no man, but go thy way, show 
thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that 
Moses commanded. 



TO GALILEE. 



379 



He was now on his way back to Caper- 
naum, and as he approached the city, there 
met him a number of the chief men of the 
place. They had come to him on behalf of 
a certain centurion who lived in Capernaum v 
and who was now in great trouble. One of 
his slaves, whom he loved as dearly as his 
own son, was at the point of death, and he 
begged that some of the chief men of the 
city would go to Jesus and beseech him to 
cure the slave. 

The centurion was an officer in command 
of a hundred soldiers, a Roman, belonging 
to the army of King Herod, and it was a 
strange thing that the Jewish rulers should 
trouble themselves about the illness of his 
slave. As a rule, the Romans and the Jews 
— the conquerors and the conquered — were 
far from cherishing any kindly feelings one 
towards the other, although they were com- 
pelled to live side by side. 

The Centurion's Servant. 

But this centurion was a man of larger 
heart than the rest, and as it was his lot to 
live amongst the Jews, he had determined 
to do his utmost to show them kindness, and 
gain their good will. He had even built a 
beautiful synagogue for them, and in many 
other ways had tried to serve them. 

The Jews were therefore concerned when 
they heard of his distress, and hastened to 
take his message to Jesus, who immediately 
answered, I will go and heal him. 

But before he could reach the house of 
the centurion, he was met by the Roman 
himself, who had come with some of his 
friends to beg that he would not give himself 
so much trouble. He had heard how Jesus 
had cured the nobleman's son without see- 
ing him, by merely speaking a word, and 
he thought that sickness ana pain wert 
spirits, vv'ho were obliged to obey the voice 



380 



JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 



of Jesus, and to come or go as he desired. 
He said, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I 
am not worthy that thou shouldst enter 
under my roof, neither thought I myself 
worthy to come to thee; but speak the word 
only, and my slave shall be healed. For I 
also am a man under authority, having sol- 
diers under me, and I say unto one, Go, and 
he goeth, and to another, Come, and he 
cometh, and to my slave, Do this, and he 
doeth it. 

The Man was Cured. 

No one had ever yet addressed such words 
to Jesus. The Roman centurion was the first 
to perceive that he was the Lord of all, and 
when Jesus heard these words fall from his 
lips, he marvelled greatly, and turning to 
the people who were following him, he said, 
Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so 
great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say 
unto you, that many shall come from the 
east and west, and shall sit down with Abra- 
ham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of 
heaven. But the children of the kingdom 
shall be cast into outer darkness : there shall 
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Then he said to the centurion, Go thy 
way, and as thou hast believed, so be it 
done unto thee. 

So the centurion departed to his house, 
and at the same moment his slave became 
well. 

Jesus again left Capernaum, early the next 
day, for there were many other towns that 
he desired to visit. 

He sailed over the beautiful Sea of Galilee, 
and landed again some way farther down 
the coast. Then he left the shore, and made 
towards the city of Nain, which was at some 
little distance, followed by his disciples and 
a great multitude of people. 

It was a brilliant summer's day. The sun 



was shining in the clear blue sky, the birds 
were singing amongst the branches, the 
waters of the Sea of Galilee were sparkling 
and rippling, everything seemed to speak of 
happiness and joy. 

But presently, as they drew nearer towards 
the city, a wail of sorrow smote upon their 
ears, and soon they saw a sad procession ol 
mourners coming forth from the gates. 

In front was carried a bier, or open coffin, 
on which lay the dead body of a young man. 
Next came the mother weeping bitterly, and 
behind there followed a number of other 
persons, who were weeping and lamenting. 
For them the beauty of the scene around 
them had but little charm, their eyes were 
blinded by their tears, for they were carrying 
out the young man to bury him beyond the 
gates of the city. 

Jesus stopped the procession and asked 
who it was that they were going to bury, 
and they told him that the young man who 
had died was the only son of his mother, 
and she was a widow. 

Restored to his Mother. 

The heart of Jesus was filled with com- 
passion, and turning to the poor mother, who 
was weeping so bitterly, he said to her, 
Weep not. 

Then he went nearer, and touched the bier. 
Those who were carrying it stood still, and 
a hush fell upon all as he said, Young man, 
I say unto thee, Arise. 

The young man was dead, his spirit had 
already left him, but at the call of the Lord 
it came back. 

He that was dead sat up and began to 
speak, and Jesus gave him back to his 
mother, who had thought that he was gone 
from her for ever. 

Then a great fear fell upon all those who 
saw the wonderful sight. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



Jesus Dines in the House of a Pharisee — Mary Magdalene and her Box of Ointment 
— Cure of the Man Sick of the Palsy — A Cluster of Parables — What the King- 
dom of Heaven is Like — Story of the Prodigal — Publicans and Sinners — A 
Woman Healed — The Daughter of Jairus — The Troubled Sea Calmed — The Man 
Possessed of Devils — Followed by a Multitude — The Twelve Apostles. 




REAT interest was awakened 
by the wonderful works of 
Christ Up to this time the 
Pharisees had, for the most 
part, taken very little notice 
of him, but after the miracle 
that had been wrought at 
Nain, they began to pay more attention to 
the new Teacher, and one of the Pharisees, 
whose name was Simon, invited him to dine 
at his house. 

He was not, however, like Nicodemus,who 
had honored Jesus and wished to learn from 
him; and though he asked him to his house, 
he did not receive him with any real kind- 
ness of feeling. Even the most ordinary 
courtesy was neglected, such as that of hav- 
ing water poured over his hands and feet. 

In the countries of the East, there is much 
less privacy than amongst ourselves, and in 
consequence of the heat, the feast in the 
Pharisee's house was held in a room with 
open doors, into which anyone might freely 
enter from the street. It happened, there- 
fore, that many of those who had been with 
Jesus followed him into the house that they 
might still be near him, and listen to his 
words. 

Amongst these was a woman called Mary, 
who came from the town of Magdala. She 
had led a wicked life, and as she stood in 
the presence of Jesus, she became filled with 



a sense of her own sinfulness, and of the 
distance that separated her from his life of 
purity and holiness. 

She began to weep bitterly, and as she 
wept, her tears fell down upon the feet of 
Jesus, for in those days the guests at a feast 
reclined upon couches with their feet away 
from the table. 

Seeing this, she bent down and began to 
wipe the feet of Jesus, with her long hair, 
while her whole heart was filled with a burn- 
ing desire to turn away from her past sins, 
and to lead a new and better life. She 
longed to find some means of showing her 
love and her reverence for him who had 
wrought this change in her, and as she had 
nothing else to offer him, she took a box of 
fragrant ointment, and poured it out upon 
his feet. 

The Two Debtor*,, 

The Pharisee saw what was done, and in 
his heart he was much displeased, for he said 
within himself, If this man were a prophet, 
he would know what manner of woman this 
is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. 

Jesus knew what was passing in his mind, 
and in order to show him how wrong he was, 
he began to tell him of a certain man who 
had two debtors. The one owed him five 
hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when 
they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave 

381 




MARY, ANOINTING THE FEET OF CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE, 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



383 



them both. Tell me, therefore, said Jesus, 
which of them will love him most ? 

The Pharisee answered, He, I suppose, to 
whom he forgave most. 

Then said Jesus, Thou hast rightly judged, 
And, turning to the woman, he went on to 
explain that she was like the first of the two 
debtors to whom much had been forgiven. 

Seest thou this woman ? he said, I entered 
into thine house; thou givest me no water 
for my feet, but she hath washed my feet 
with tears and wiped them with the hairs of 
her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this 
woman since the time that I came in, hath 
not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with 
oil thou didst not anoint, but she hath 
anointed my feet with ointment. Where- 
fore, I say unto thee, her sins which are 
many are forgiven, for she loved much; but 
to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth 
little. 

And then to Mary herself he said, Thy 
sins are forgiven. Go in peace. 

In the House of Peter. 

After having spent some time L* going 
from one to another of the cities of Galilee, 
teaching and working miracles, Jesus returned 
once more to his own city of Capernaum. 

He went as usual to the house of Peter, 
but he was unable to obtain any rest, for the 
people had heard of his return, and came 
flocking to the house. Soon there was no 
room left, even for standing, but still the 
multitude crowded round the door. 

Amongst those who had been unable to 
obtain an entrance, was a poor man who was 
sick of the palsy. This disease prevented 
him from having any use of his limbs, and 
he would have been unable to reach the 
place, had it not been for the kindness of 
four of his friends, who carried him, stretched 
upon a mattress. 



Their disappointment at being unable to 
bring him into the presence of Jesus was very 
great, but presently they thought of a means 
by which they could accomplish their pur- 
pose. 

The roofs of eastern houses are usually 
flat, and as the people like to walk upon 
them in the cool of the evening, there are 
steps outside the house, by which it is easy 
to get to the top. They are, moreover, very 
slightly built, and the four friends had no 
great difficulty in removing some of the tiles 
from the roof of Peter's house, and lowering 
the mattress into the room in which Jesus 
was teaching the people. 

Instead of being annoyed at the interrup- 
tion, Jesus was pleased at what they had 
done, and he said to the sick man, Son, be 
of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee. 

Now it happened that there were certain 
of the Scribes and Pharisees sitting there, 
who began to reason in their hearts, and 
say, This man speaketh blasphemies. Who 
can forgive sins but God only ? 

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and he 
answered them, saying, Wherefore think ye 
evil in your hearts ? Is it easier to say to 
the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven 
thee, or to say, Arise and walk ? 

The Man Walked Away. 

In other words, Is it easier to cure the 
body or to cure the soul ? The cure of the 
body could be seen by all, the cure of the 
soul could only be known to God; but in 
order that all might perceive that he had 
power to heal the body, and might believe 
that he was able also to heal the soul, Jesus, 
said to the man sick of the palsy, I say unto 
thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy 
way unto thine house. 

As he spoke, a new life seemed to fill the 
veins of the sick man. A moment before, 



384 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



he had been stretched on his couch, unable 
to move; now, at the command of Jesus, he 
arose, took up his bed, and went away to 
his house. 

The crowd watched him with amazement, 
and they departed glorifying God, who had 
given such power unto men. 

As soon as he was able, Jesus left the 
house, for he liked far better to teach the 
people out of doors, with the blue sky stretch- 
ing far above his head, and the fresh breeze 
rustling round him. He went down to the 
sea-shore, and seeing a boat moored there, 
he entered into it, and began to speak. 

He said that he would tell them a story of 
a sower, who once went forth in the spring- 
time to sow his field. He scattered the seeds 
over it, but it happened that some of them 
fell upon the pathway, where they were left 
exposed, and the birds of the air came and 
pecked them up. 

Other seeds fell upon rocky ground, where 
there was but little depth of earth, and though 
they soon sprang up, yet they had so little 
root that they were quickly withered by the 
heat of the sun. 

The Good Ground. 

Again, some of the seeds fell among thorn- 
bushes, and the thorns grew up and occupied 
all the gronnd, so that there was no room 
for the seeds to grow. But some of them 
fell on good ground, and they sprang up 
and yielded fruit. Where one seed had been 
cast into the ground, there grew an ear of 
grain full of seeds, sometimes with thirty, 
sometimes sixty, sometimes a hundred on 
one stalk. 

Afterwards the disciples asked Jesus what 
was the meaning of the story, and he told 
them that it was a picture, or a parable, of 
the kingdom of God. Many different kinds 
of people are called to enter that kingdom, 



and the seed is the word which calls them 
into it. But some hear the call without atten- 
tion ; those are the people whose seeds were 
sown upon the pathway. 

Others listen gladly for a time, but after- 
wards, when trouble or persecution comes, 
they fall away, like the blades withered by 
the heat of the sun. In the case of others, 
again, the cares and riches and pleasures of 
this world occupy, the heart, just as the 
thorn-bushes filled the ground, and leave no 
room for other thoughts. But some there 
are, men of honest and good hearts, who 
listen to the word and understand it, and 
who bring forth fruit with patience. 

Sowing Tares. 

Jesus spoke another parable, saying : The 
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man 
which sowed good seed in his field: but 
while men slept his enemy came and sowed 
tares among the wheat, and went his way. 
But when the blade was sprung up, and 
brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares 
also. 

So the servants of the householder came 
and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow 
good seed in thy field ? From whence then 
hath it tares? He said unto them, An 
enemy hath done this. 

The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then 
that we go and gather them up ? But he said, 
Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye 
root up also the wheat with them. Let both 
grow together until the harvest : and in the 
time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 
Gather ye together first the tares, and bind 
them in bundles to burn them : but gather 
the wheat into my barn. 

And he said, So is the kingdom of God, 
as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 
and should sleep, and rise night and day, and 
the seed should spring and grow up, he 



JESlJb TEACHING AND HEALING. 



385 



knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth 
forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then 
the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 
But when the fruit is brought forth, imme- 
diately he putteth in the sickle, because the 
harvest is come. 

Then Jesus spoke another parable, and 
said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom 



come and lodge in the branches thereof, 
Still further he talked to them, and said. 
The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, 
which a woman took, and hid in three meas- 
ures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 

And with many such parables he spoke 
the word unto them, as they were able to 
hear it. But without a parable he did not 




THE ENEMY SOWING TARES BY NIGHT. 



of God? Or with what comparison shall we 
compare it ? The kingdom of heaven is like 
to a grain of mustard seed, which a man 
took, and sowed in his field : which, when it 
is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds 
that be in the earth : but when it is sown, it 
groweth up, and becometh greater than all 
herbs, and shooteth out great branches, and 
becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air 
25 



speak unto them : that it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by the prophet, sayings I 
will open my mouth in parables ; I will utter 
things which have been kept secret from the 
foundation of the world. And when they 
were alone, he expounded all things to his 
disciples. 

Again he said, The kingdom of heaven is 
like unto treasure hid in a field ; the which 




FINDING THE HIDDEN TREASURE. 



386 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



887 



when a man hath found, he hideth, and for 
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, 
and buyeth that field. 

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto 
a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls : who, 
when he had found one pearl of great price, 
went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto 
a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered 
of every kind : which, when it was full, they 
drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered 
the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 
So shall it be at the end of the world : the 
angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked 
from among the just, and shall cast them 
into the furnace of fire : there shall be wail- 
ing and gnashing of teeth. 

Jesus saith unto them, Have ye under- 
stood all these things ? 

They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then 
said he unto them, Therefore, every scribe 
which is instructed unto the kingdom of 
heaven is like unto a man that is an house- 
holder, which bringeth forth out of his treas- 
ure things new and old. 

The Hated Tax Collectors. 

Amongst the Jews at this time, there was 
a class of people who were more hated and 
despised than any others These were the 
publicans or tax-gatherers. The Jews were 
obliged to pay taxes to their Roman con- 
querors, and much as they hated the Romans, 
they hated still more those of their country- 
men who helped them by collecting the taxes 
for them. 

Besides this, the tax-gatherers deserved, in 
many cases, to be looked down upon, for 
they were in the habit of making an unfair 
profit, by charging more than the right 
amount of the tax, and keeping the remain- 
der for themselves. 

For these reasons, the Jews were accus- 



tomed to speak of " publicans and sinners," 
as if the two words meant the same thing, 
and they considered that no one who had 
any respect for his own character would 
have any intercourse with such persons. 

But Jesus knew that in all conditions of 
life there were some who would gladly obey 
his call, and he had observed one of the pub- 
licans, a man named Matthew, who was, he 
perceived, worthy to become his friend and 
disciple. He passed by as Matthew was sit- 
ting at his work, and said to him, Follow me. 
And Matthew at once rose up, and left his 
books and papers, and followed him. 

He knew that Jesus would soon again be 
leaving Capernaum, and he was willing to go 
with him to the end of the world, if need be, 
but he desired first to say farewell to his old 
friends, and gathered them all together to a 
feast at his house. 

Jesus had promised to be present, and 
when the time came, he went to the house 
of Matthew with his disciples, where he 
found himself in the midst of a number oi 
publicans and others who had broken some 
of the commandments of the Law, and who 
were therefore called sinners. None but such 
as these would come to a feast in the publi- 
can's house. 

The Foolish Prodigal. 

When Jesus looked round upon these 
poor, despised, and sinful people, his heart 
was filled with compassion, and he longed 
to convince them of the love of God for 
even such poor outcasts as they were, and 
to assure them, that if they would repent of 
their sins, God would be willing to forgive 
them, and receive them into his kingdom. 

He told them a parable of a certain man 
who had two sons. The younger son be- 
came tired of his home, and asked his father 
to give him the money that would come to 



388 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



him at his death, that he might go away and 
travel in foreign lands. 

The father yielded to his wishes, and the 
son went away to a far country, and had soon 
spent all the money in riotous living. When 
it was all gone, he began to be in want, for 
there was a famine in that land, and he be- 



This he did ; and while he was yet a great 
way off, the father saw him, and had com- 
passion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and 
kissed him. And the son said, Father, I 
have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, 
and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 

But the father said to his servants, Bring 




THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON. 



came so poor that he was obliged to hire 
himself out as a swineherd. Even then he 
was often so hungry that he would gladly 
have eaten the swine's food, but no man gave 
unto him. Then he thought to himself, How 
many hired servants of my father have bread 
enough and to spare, and I perish with hun- 
ger. I will arise and go to my father. 



forth the best robe and put it on him, and 
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, 
and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, 
and let us eat and be merry. For this my 
son was dead, and is alive again ; he was 
lost, and is found. 

The publicans and sinners did not need to 
ask what the p irable meant. They knew that 




THE BEGGAR LAZARUS AT THE RICH MAN'S GATE. 



3S9 



390 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



the prodigal son represented just such people 
as themselves, and that God was the kind 
father who was so willing to forgive his son 
as soon as he repented of his evil ways. 

The Rich Man and the Beggar. 

Then Jesus told them the parable of the 
rich man and Lazarus : There was a certain 
rich man, who was clothed in purple and 
fine linen, and who lived on the choicest food 
every day. His home was a splendid resi- 
dence, rich carpets covering its floors and 
beautiful gems adorning its walls. The 
princely occupant rode in his elegant chariots, 
behind magnificent horses. It is not said 
that he was a very bad man, but simply that 
he lived a life of ease and self-indulgence and 
forgetfulness of God. He did not care for 
the sorrows and wants of a poor man such 
as Lazarus, who sat at his gate and was glad 
to make a meal on the pieces which were 
taken from his table after he had indulged 
his appetite. Lazarus was not only poor, 
but very sick with a diseased body. 

The dogs were his companions, and we 
read that they licked the poor man's sores as 
he sat at the gate. Perhaps he was unable 
even to walk to the gate, but was carried 
there every day by sympathizing friends. He 
desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell 
from the rich man's table, but it is not stated 
that he received enough even of these to 
supply his wants. 

The condition of Lazarus in this life 
formed a marked contrast to that of the rich 
man. At last the beggar's sufferings were 
ended, by death coming to his relief, and 
Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abra- 
ham's bosom. There was very little display 
at his funeral; he filled only a pauper's 
grave ; indeed, the Scripture makes no men- 
tion of his funeral. The palaces of the new 
Jerusalem, the raptures of heaven, and the 



enjoyment of the celestial banquet formed a 
marked contrast to his former sad experi- 
ences of suffering and woe. 

The rich man also died and had a grand 
and costly funeral, for the Scripture states 
that he was buried. But in the future state, 
we are told that he lifted up his eyes, being 
in torments, and, as he looked up, he saw 
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, 
and he cried and said, Father Abraham, have 
mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he 
may dip the tip of his finger in water and 
cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this 
flame. So great was the punishment for 
which he suffered for his sins. 

The Beggar is Made Happy. 

But Abraham said, Son, remember that 
you, in your lifetime, received your good 
things. You had the riches, pleasures, and 
honors of the world, while Lazarus received 
evil things — poverty, suffering, sickness, 
neglect and hunger. But now Lazarus, who 
trusted in and served God, is comforted, and 
you, who lived a life of ease, indulgence, 
and forgetfulness of God, are tormented. 
And besides all this, between us and you 
there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who 
would pass from us to you cannot, neither 
can they pass to us who would come from 
you. 

His prayers for himself will not be heard, 
so he desires that Lazarus may be sent to 
his father's house, that he may warn his five 
brethren to repent of their sins, lest they, 
too, should come into that place of torment. 
Abraham said, They have the writings of 
Moses and the prophets, and in them, if they 
read, they will find sufficient warnings, and 
from them they can learn their duty if they 
will. The rich man said, Nay, father Abra- 
ham, but if one shall go to them from the 
dead and warn them, they will repent. Abra- 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



391 



ham replied, If they will not heed the teach- 
ings of God in the Scripture, neither will 
they be persuaded, though one rose from 
the dead. 

The Unjust Judge. 

Jesus wanted to impress upon the minds 
of the deciples the necessity of much prayer, 
and for this reason he told them the follow- 
ing parable : 

There was in a city a judge, who feared 
not God, neither regarded man. There were 
many judges of this kind in eastern cities, 
and their favor was often bought by the rich, 
while the poor were left to suffer by their 
verdict. In the same city where the unjust 
judge lived was a widow who came unto him 
very often, beseeching him to punish one 
who was her enemy. 

Suitors in the East, even at the present 
time, will seat themselves day after day at 
a rich man's door, till they exhaust his 
patience, and he will grant their requests in 
order to get rid of them. The unjust judge 
to whom the widow applied said within him- 
self, Though I fear not God nor regard man, 
yet because this widow troubleth me, I will 
avenge her, lest by her continual coming she 
weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what 
the unjust judge saith. 

And if this man, who was unjust and 
without mercy and compassion, was moved 
by the perseverence and importunity of the 
widow to grant her requests, will not God, 
who judges righteously and who is full of 
•compassion and mercy, give unto his children 
what they pray for day and night, though 
for a while he may seem not to hear them ? 
I tell you, he will avenge them speedily. 

As Jesus was leaving the house of Mat- 
thew, there met him certain of the Pharisees, 
who were displeased that he should have 
taken part in such a feast, and they said to 



his disciples, Why eateth your Master with 
publicans and sinners ? 

When Jesus heard that, he answered, They 
that are whole have no need of the physician, 
but they that are sick. I came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He 
meant to say that the publicans and sinners 
needed him more than the Pharisees, who 
made so great a profession of religion, and 
that at the same time they were far more 
ready to listen to his teaching. 

Then he spoke a parable, saying, Which 
of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose 
one of them, doth not leave the ninety and 
nine in the wilderness, and go after that 
which is lost until he find it ? And when 
found, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoic- 
ing. And when he cometh home, he calleth 
together his friends, saying, Rejoice with me, 
for I have found my sheep which was lost. 

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be 
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
more than over ninety and nine just persons 
which need no repentance. 

The Sheep that Went Astray. 

The publicans and sinners were like the 
lost sheep that had gone astray. It could 
not be brought back to the fold without 
painful toil and effort, and therefore, when at 
last the effort had been crowned with success, 
the angels of God rejoiced more over that 
one lost sheep that had been brought back, 
than over the ninety and nine in whose case 
no such effort had been necessary. 

Whilst Jesus was still speaking, there came 
towards him a man named Jairus, who was 
one of the rulers of the synagogue. He 
was running in great haste, and falling at 
the feet of Jesus, he besought him that he 
would help him, for he was in great trouble. 

My little daughter, he said, lieth at the 
point of death. I pray thee, come and lay 



392 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



thy hands upon her that she may be healed, 
and she shall live. 

Jesus went with him, and many of the 
people also, who thronged and pressed 
around him. Amongst these was a certain 
woman, who had been ill for twelve years. 
She had spent all her money in going from 
one physician to another, but no one had 
been able to heal her ; instead of getting 
any better, she only grew worse. 

Then she heard of Jesus, but she was 
afraid to go and ask him to make her well, 
and she thought that if she could but touch 
his clothes, she would be healed without any 
one knowing anything about it, so she came 
behind him in the press, and touched the 
hem of his garment. As she did so, she 
felt herself suddenly become strong and 
well, and knew that she was healed of her 
disease. 

But she had been mistaken in thinking 
that she could escape from the knowledge of 
Jesus. He knew at once that there had 
passed from him the healing power to cure, 
and he turned, and said, Who touched me? 

A Happy Woman. 

The disciples answered him, Master, the 
multitude throng thee and press thee, and 
sayest thou, Who touched me ? 

But Jesus said, Somebody hath touched 
me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of 
me. 

Then the woman saw that she could not 
be hid, and she came trembling, and falling 
down before him, she declared unto him, 
before all the people, for what cause she had 
touched him, and how she was healed imme- 
diately. 

And Jesus said unto her, Daughter, be 
of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee 
whole ; go in peace. 

He was still speaking to her when there 



came some messengers 'rom the house of 
Jairus, who said to him, Thy daughter is 
dead ; trouble not the Master. 

But when Jesus heard it, he said, Fear 
not, believe only, and she shall be made 
whole. And he went with them towards 
the house. 

When they reached it, they heard a great 
sound of weeping and wailing ; for it is the 
custom in the East, if any one dies, to hire 
mourners to cry aloud and express the grief 
of the friends by many tears and lamenta- 
tions. 

Jesus would not allow any one to enter 
the house with him, except the father of the 
child, and three of his disciples, Peter, and 
James, and John. 

Immediately She Arose. 

Then Jesus went into the room in which 
lay the dead body of the maiden. All 
round her were the mourners, weeping and 
lamenting, but Jesus told them that there 
was no occasion for their sorrow, since he 
had promised to make her well. Give place, 
he said, for the maid is not dead but sleepeth. 

They thought they knew better ; they 
were sure that she was really dead, and 
they laughed him to scorn. But he put 
them all out of the room, and allowed no 
one to remain but the father and mother of 
the maiden. Then he went up to her, and 
took her by the hand, saying some Hebrew 
words which mean, Little maid, I say unto 
thee, Arise. 

And her spirit came again, and she arose 
straightway, and he commanded that some- 
thing should be given her to eat. 

It was now evening, and on leaving the 
house of Jairus, Jesus was followed all the 
way back to the house of Peter by two blind 
men, who cried out to him, saying, Have 
mercy on us, thou Son of David ! 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



393 



When they had reached the house, he his wishes, they went away and spread 

asked them, Believe ye that I am able to do abroad his fame over all the country. They 

this ? They answered, Yea, Lord. thought no doubt that in so doing, they were 

Then he touched their eyes, saying, honoring him, but they forgot that the true 

According to your faith be it unto you, and way of doing him honor was by obedience. 




CHRIST RAISING THE 

their eyes were opened. Jesus asked for 
neither thanks nor reward, but he gave a 
command to the two blind men whom he 
had cured, that they should tell no one what 
had been done to them. 

But instead of being careful to carry out 



DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS. 

Of all those to whom the blind men told 
their story, there were few who had not some 
sick or afflicted friend whom they immedi- 
ately determined to bring to Jesus, and the 
crowds that gathered round him became 
every day greater and greater. He was 



394 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



unable to rest; he had not time so much as 
to eat; he could not be alone for quiet 
prayer. He was obliged therefore to leave 
Capernaum again, and he went down to the 
sea-shore to sail away in the ship with his 
disciples. 

As he went, some of those who had been 
following him, wished to continue with him, 
and said that they also would go in the ship ; 
but Jesus told them that if they really desired 
to be his disciples, they must be prepared 
to sacrifice their homes, their friends, their 
wealth, and to live a life of toil and hard- 
ship. 

Asleep in the Boat. 

To one who said to him, Lord, I will 
follow thee whithersoever thou goest, he 
answered, The foxes have holes, and the 
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of 
Man hath not where to lay his head. 

The ship was now ready, and Jesus en- 
tered it with his disciples, while some of the 
rest followed in other little ships. It was a 
lovely evening, and at first all went well ; the 
sea was calm and peaceful, and the ship sailed 
smoothly over the waters. Jesus was wearied 
out with his long days of teaching and heal- 
ing, and he lay down upon a pillow and went 
to sleep. 

But by-and-by there arose a mighty tem- 
pest in the sea. A sudden wind swept across 
the lake, and covered it with great waves, 
which beat over the ship and filled it with 
water. It was a time of deadly danger. 

Still Jesus slept on, overcome with weari- 
ness, and still the storm became fiercer and 
fiercer. At last the disciples could no longer 
restrain themselves, and they came to him 
and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we 
perish. 

They were filled with fear because of the 
■danger to which they were exposed. They 



had not as yet the faith of the centurion, who 
believed that Jesus was Lord of all, and he 
said to them, Why are ye so fearful, O ye of 
little faith ? 

Then he arose and rebuked the wind, and 
said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the 
wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 

And the men marvelled, saying, What 
manner of man is this, that even the winds 
and the sea obey him ? 

Soon after this they reached the other side 
of the lake, and landed on a desolate, rocky 
shore, not far from the town of Gergesa. 

They left the ship, and were walking to^ 
wards the city, when there fell upon their 
ears a sharp cry, as of a human being in 
pain. Following the direction of the sound, 
they came to a place where a number of 
tombs had been hewn out in the rock, and 
amongst the tombs they saw a man who was 
crying and cutting himself with stones. 

A Dangerous Man. 

The man was possessed of devils, who 
had driven him mad. He had left his friends, 
cast off all his clothes, and now was in this 
desolate place, living amongst the tombs, 
night and day. His friends had tried to 
keep him under restraint, and had bound him 
with fetters and with chains ; but the fetters 
he had broken in pieces, and the chains he 
had cast asunder. It was impossible to tame 
him, and he was so fierce that no one dared 
to go near him. 

When he saw Jesus coming towards him, 
the devil within him cried out with a loud 
voice, and said, What have we to do with 
thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? 
I adjure thee by God that thou torment me 
not. 

Jesus stood still, and asked him, What is 
thy name ? The devil answered, My name 
is Legion, for we are many. If thou cast us 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



395 



out of this man, suffer us at least to enter 
into the herd of swine yonder. A Legion 
was the name given by the Romans to six 
thousand soldiers. 

Jesus answered, Go ! and when he had 
said this, the devils left the man, and entered 
into a large herd of swine, who were feeding 
at some little distance. No sooner had this 
taken place than the swine became greatly 
agitated, and ran violently to and fro. 

At last they came to a steep rock over- 
hanging the sea, and, being unable to con- 
trol themselves, they rushed over the edge 
of the rock and perished in the waters. 

The herdsmen who were in charge of 
them fled away into the city, and told all 
that had happened — how the man possessed 
with devils had been cured, and how the 
swine had perished. 

The whole city came out to meet Jesus, 
and when they had reached the place, they 
saw the man who had been so fierce and so 
wild, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and 
in his right mind, and they were afraid. 

He Sent the Man Home. 

This stranger, who had so lately landed 
on their shores, had already conquered the 
fierce madman whom no one had ever yet 
been able to tame, and had, moreover, de- 
stroyed two thousand of their swine. They 
feared greatly lest he should again exercise 
his wonderful power in such a way as to 
injure them; and thinking more of their own 
loss in the destruction of the swine than of 
the gain to the poor man, they besought 
Jesus that he would depart out of their 
coasts. 

He turned and left them, for he could do 
them no good against their will, and went 
down to the shore to sail away again in the 
ship by which he had come. The poor man 
who had been cured went with him ; he 



could not bear to leave the side of his deliv- 
erer, and begged that he might be allowed 
to go away with him in the ship. 

But Jesus would not take him away. He 
said, Go home to thy friends, and tell them 
what great things the Lord hath done for 
thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 

The man obeyed his words, and pub- 
lished abroad in all that country, and in the 
coasts of Decapolis, what great things Jesus 
had done unto him. 

Followed by a Multitude. 

This time the ship had a prosperous jour- 
ney, and Jesus landed with his disciples on 
another coast, where the people received him 
gladly. As before, he went through the 
cities and villages, teaching and curing those 
who were sick and afflicted, followed by bis 
disciples and by a great multitude of other 
people. 

Amongst those who followed Jesus were 
several women, who also supplied his needs, 
providing him with food, and with money 
when it was required. One of these women 
was the wife of Chuza, the steward of King 
Herod, and her name was Susanna; another 
was Mary Magdalene, who had washed the 
feet of Jesus with her tears in the house of 
the Pharisee; a third was Salome, the wife 
of Zebedee, and the mother of the two disci- 
ples, James and John. 

All day long, Jesus ministered to the peo- 
ple, and when night came, he either accepted 
the hospitality of some of those who invited 
him to rest in their houses, or else spent the 
night in the open air with his disciples, 
making his bed on the green grass, with the 
stars shining far above over his head. 

Often, too, he would leave his disciples to 
take their rest, whilst he himself would go 
away alone to a mountain apart, and spend 
the whole night in prayer to God. 



396 



JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 



So the days went by, and the multitudes 
that gathered round him became always 
greater and greater. When he saw them he 
was filled with compassion, and one day 
he said to his disciples, The harvest truly is 
plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray 
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he 
send forth laborers into his harvest. After 
this he went away, as he often did, and 
passed the night in prayer. 

The next day, he called the disciples 
around him, and said that he was going to 
set apart twelve of them for a special work. 
They were to be his chosen friends, and 
were usually to go with him wherever he 
went, but just now he had something else 
for them to do. 

The Twelve Apostles. 

Seven of these twelve disciples (who were 
called the Twelve Apostles) had already 
been chosen. Andrew, and John, the son 
of Zebedee, were the two who had first come 
to Jesus in Judaea, about a year before this 
time, and they had been quickly followed by 
Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel (who was 
also called Bartholomew) . Since then, James, 
the brother of John, had been called from 
his fishing, and Matthew the publican from 
the place of toll. 

Five others were chosen at this time. 
There was a second James, who was the son 
of Alphaeus, and a second Simon, called 
also Zelotes; there was also Thomas, and 
Thaddaeus, or Lebbaeus, and, last of all, 
Judas Iscariot. 

Jesus told them that he himself was going 
up to Jerusalem for a time, but that he 
wished them to remain in Galilee and carry 
on his work. They were not to go into any 
city of the Samaritans or of the Gentiles, 
but to remain among the cities of Israel, 



and preach the good news of the kingdom of 
heaven. 

They were to heal the sick, to cleanse the 
lepers, and to cast out devils, as Jesus him- 
self had done. Like him also, they were to 
have neither gold nor silver, nor even a 
change of clothing, but were to depend for 
everything upon the kindness of those whom 
they taught. 

Those who were good to them, he said, 
would be richly rewarded. If anyone gave 
them even a cup of cold water in a spirit of 
love, he would not fail to receive a blessing. 

When they entered a city or a village, 
they were to inquire who in it would be the 
most likely to receive them kindly, and then 
they were to go to the house to which they 
had been directed, and as they entered, they 
were to say, Peace be to this house. 

If the people made them welcome, they 
were to remain in the same house so long as 
they continued in that city or village; but if 
they refused to receive them, then they were 
to leave that place and go to another. 

How to Save Their Lives. 

They must be prepared, he said, for toil 
and hardships ; and must be ready to sacri- 
fice themselves even to death, if need be, 
for the truth they had to teach. But even 
though they might suffer for a time, they 
might feel sure that their Father in heaven 
was watching over them and caring for them ; 
and they would be called upon to make no 
sacrifice of which their Master would not 
first set them an example. 

He that doth not take up his cross and 
follow after me, said Jesus, is not worthy of 
me. He that seeketh to save his life shall 
lose it ; but he that loseth his life for my sake 
shall find it. Thus he taught the great les- 
son of self-sacrifice. 




GOOD TREES BRING FORTH GOOD FRUIT. 



397 




JOY AFTER A NIGHT OF WEEPING. 



398 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



The Man at the Pool of Bethesda — Trouble with the Pharisees — Plucking Corn 
on the Sabbath — David Eating the Shew-Bread — Death and Burial of John the 
Baptist — Feeding a Multitude — Storm on the Sea — Jesus Walking on the Water 
— Rescue of Peter — A Mother's Appeal for her Daughter — The Deaf and Dumb 
Man— A Blind Man Healed — Peter Called a Rock — The Mount of Transfigura- 
tion — A Lunatic Cured. 




s<s&> ANY who had heard of Jesus 

were anxious to learn more 
/^y^k!?^U^ concerning him, and so 
when he had made an end 
of commanding his twelve 
Apostles, he sent them out 
by two and two to teach 
in all the cities of Galilee, 
whilst he himself made his journey to Jeru- 
salem alone. 

Now there was in Jerusalem a certain pool 
of water called the pool of Bethesda. Into 
this pool there came an angel at certain 
seasons, who stirred the water ; and so it 
was, that the first person who stepped into 
the pool after the stirring of the water, was 
made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 
The Jews had built five porches round the 
pool, and in these there lay constantly a 
number of sick people, and of blind, lame, 
and withered, waiting for the moving of the 
water, each with the hope that he might be 
the first to get in. 

When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he went 
to see the poor afflicted people at the pool of 
Bethesda, and he found there a man who 
had suffered from an infirmity for thirty-eight 
years. He could not move quickly, and as 
he had no friends to help him, he had never 
in all that time been able to reach the pool 
before anyone else. Jesus knew how long 



he had suffered, and he went up to him and 
said, Wilt thou be made whole ? 

The man answered, Sir, I have no man, 
when the water is stirred, to put me into the 
pool, but while I am coming another steppeth 
down before me. 

Went Away with His Couch. 

Jesus said unto him, Arise, and take up 
thy bed and walk, and at ,:hese words, the 
power which for thirty-eight years had for- 
saken the limbs of the sick man was restored 
to them, and he arose and departed. 

Now it happened that the day on which 
Jesus cured this man was the Sabbath day. 
The Pharisees were exceedingly particular 
about the observance of the Sabbath, and 
many of the rules which they laid down for 
the people were concerning the various things 
that might or might not be done. One of 
these rules was that no burden might be car- 
ried on the Sabbath day, so that when some 
of the Pharisees met the man carrying his 
mattress, they stopped him and said, It is not 
lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 

The man answered, He that made me 
whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy 
bed and walk. 

Then the Pharisees asked, What man is 
he that said unto thee, Take. up thy bed and 
walk ? 

399 



400 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



At first the man was unable to answer 
their question, for he did not know who 
Jesus was, and immediately after curing him, 
he had disappeared among the crowd. But 
soon afterwards it happened that Jesus found 
the man in the temple, and said to him, 
Thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a 
worse thing come unto thee. 

The Pharisees Offended. 

Then the man knew who it was, and he 
went and told the Pharisees that it was Jesus 
who had made him well. From this time, 
the Pharisees began to persecute Jesus, be- 
cause he did these things on the Sabbath 
day. 

But Jesus answered them, My Father 
worketh hitherto, and I work. He meant to 
say that the work of God goes on, no matter 
what day of the week it is. The sun con- 
tinues to shine, the heavens are held up high 
above the earth, the trees and flowers are 
nourished, the sea is kept within its bounds, 
the children of men are preserved from 
danger on the Sabbath just as much as on 
any other day. And, therefore, Jesus said 
that he would do likewise, and would not 
cease from his works of love and kindness, 
even though it might be the Sabbath day. 

Jesus did not remain long in Jerusalem, 
but returned to Galilee, where the twelve 
Apostles again gathered round him. 

They had been through the cities and vil- 
lages of Galilee, teaching and healing, and 
now the multitudes that followed Jesus were 
greater than ever. But about this time the 
Pharisees began to look upon him with dis- 
pleasure, and two things that shortly hap- 
pened, added to their indignation. 

It was again the Sabbath day, and Jesus 

was walking through the corn-fields with his 

disciples. They were hungry, and as they 

-went, they plucked some of the ears of corn 



and began to eat them, rubbing them in 
their hands to separate the chaff, which was 
then blown away by the wind. 

Presently they were met by some of the 
Pharisees, who were angry with the disciples 
when they saw what they were doing, and 
said to Jesus, Behold, thy disciples do that 
which it is not lawful to do upon the Sab- 
bath. 

It was not that there was any harm in 
taking the corn, for anybody passing through 
the corn-fields was allowed to help himself 
to as much as he pleased ; but the Pharisees 
had made a rule that no sort of threshing 
was to be done on the Sabbath day, and 
they said that to separate the chaff from the 
ears of corn was really a kind of threshing, 
and therefore, a breaking of the Sabbath. 

In answer to their rebuke, Jesus reminded 
them of what had been done by David, the 
great king, who had been called the man 
after God's own heart. 

David Perishing With Hunger. 

Once when David was in peril of his life, 
he came to the city where the tabernacle of 
God was resting (for it was before the build- 
ing of the temple), and asked the priest to 
give him some food. The priest answered 
that he had nothing but the sacred bread, 
which was placed each week before the 
Lord, and which no one was allowed to eat 
but the priests only. 

But David was perishing with hunger, 
and so were his followers, and he made the 
priest give him the sacred bread, though it 
would not have been right to take it at any 
other time. 

Jesus also reminded the Pharisees that in 
the temple the priests did much necessary 
work on the Sabbath day in preparing the 
fires, and slaying the animals for sacrifice. 
He said, moreover, that if the Pharisees had 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



401 



understood what the prophets had so often 
r-old them, namely, that what God requires is 
the sincere worship of the heart and not any 
mere observance of rules, they would not 
have condemned the disciples, who in the 
sight of God had done no wrong. 

Later on the same day, he entered the 
synagogue according to his custom, and 
behold, there was a man there who had a 
withered hand. 

Doing Good on the Sabbath. 

The Pharisees were now eager for some 
opportunity of publicly accusing Jesus of 
breaking the Sabbath, so when they saw the 
man who had come into the synagogue with 
the hope of being cured, the)' said to Jesus, 
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? 

Before answering them, he commanded 
the man to stand forth in the midst, and then 
he said, I will also ask you one thing. Is it 
lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to 
•do evil, to save life or to destroy it ? What 
man shall there be among you that shall have 
one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the 
Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and 
lift it out? How much then is a man better 
than a sheep ? Wherefore it is lawful to do 
well on the Sabbath days. 

He longed to make them understand that 
in their manner of explaining the law of God 
about the Sabbath, they were not honoring, 
but dishonoring him ; but they would not 
learn. They would not even make any 
answer, and Jesus looked round upon them 
with anger, being grieved at the hardness of 
their hearts. 

Then, turning to the man with the with- 
ered hand, he said, Stretch forth thy hand. 

A moment before, the arm was lying at 
the man's side, dead and useless, but he did 
according to the word of Jesus, and behold 
his hand was restored whole as the other. 
26 



But the Pharisees only hated Jesus the 
more, and they went out and took counsel 
how they might destroy him, so that he was 
again obliged to withdraw himself from Ca- 
pernaum. 

All this time, John the Baptist was still 
shut up in a gloomy dungeon in the fortress 
of Macherus. 

The weeks and months had passed wear 
ily away, although he was allowed to see 
his disciples from time to time, and to hear 
from them of what was passing in the outer 
world. 

Once he had sent some of his disciples to 
Jesus, and had received from him a message 
of comfort and encouragement. He had 
told them to ask Jesus if he was indeed the 
Messiah for whom they had been looking, 
and Jesus answered the messengers by telling 
them to go back to John and tell him of all 
that was going on. Tell him, he said, that 
the blind receive their sight, and the lame 
walk ; the 'lepers are cleansed, and the deaf 
hear ; the dead are raised up, and the poor 
have the gospel preached unto them. 

A Wicked Queen. 

John might perhaps have been released, but 
he had an enemy in the queen, whose name 
was Herodias. She was a very beautiful 
woman, who had been the wife of Herod's 
brother; but Herod had carried her off from 
his brother's house, and had married her 
himself. This was very wicked, and John 
said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to 
have thy brother's wife. 

It was for this reason that the queen hated 
John. She would gladly have killed him if 
she could, but she had not been able as yet 
to accomplish her purpose, for Herod feared 
John, knowing he was a just man and a holy, 
and he often sent for him, and heard him 
gladly. 



402 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



But at last the opportunity came for which 
the queen had heen waiting. It was the 
birthday of King Herod, and he had made 
a great supper to all his lords and high cap- 
tains, and the chief men of Galilee. When 
the feast was ended, the daughter of Hero- 
dias came in and danced before them. She 



me here at once the head of John the Bap- 
tist in a dish. 

When the king heard what it was that the 
girl desired, he was exceeding sorry, but he 
had promised by an oath, in the presence of 
many witnesses, to give her whatsoever s - ve 
should ask, and though he knew he should 




THE BURIAL OF 

pleased Herod so well that he said he would 
give her whatever she should ask, and prom- 
ised with an oath that she should have it, 
even if it were the half of his kingdom. 

The girl went out and said to her mother, 
What shall I ask ? And then the queen 
thought of her revenge, and told her to go 
back quickly and say, I will that thou give 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

do a greater wrong by keeping his promise 
than by breaking it, he had not the courage 
to deny her. 

He sent a messenger in all haste to the 
prison to command that John should be put 
to death immediately, and soon the bleeding 
head of the prophet was brought to him 
upon one of the golden dishes that had been 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



403 



used at the feast. He gave the ghastly 
present to the girl, and she took it and car- 
ried it to her mother. 

You may imagine how grieved and dis- 
tressed the disciples of John were when they 
heard that the king had killed their dear 
master. They went to the prison, then lov- 
ingly and sadly took up the headless body, 
and laid it reverently in a tomb. 

A Crowd Waiting for Him. 

After this they went and told Jesus. Their 
hearts were sore and full of sadness, and 
they knew he would sympathize with them 
— they knew he loved their master. 

Did Jesus grieve ? Yes ; for no heart was 
ever so loving or tender as his own. When 
he heard what had happened, his heart was 
wrung with grief, and he longed to be alone 
for a time, until at least the first sad days of 
mourning should have passed. He entered 
the ship and went away with the disciples, 
hoping to get to a desert place where he 
would be at a distance from the multitude, 
but it was in vain. 

The people had seen him leave, and having 
guessed where he was going, they had 
hurried to the place by land, so that when 
Jesus arrived in the ship, he found them 
already there, waiting for him. 

But much as he had longed for rest and 
solitude, Jesus showed no signs of impa- 
tience as he caught sight of the waiting 
multitude. With infinite compassion he 
looked round upon them, and all that day 
he taught them and healed their sick. 

When the evening drew near, the disciples 
came to him, and reminded him that the 
day was wearing away and they were in a 
desert place; and they asked him to send 
away the people quickly, that they might go 
into the towns and villages near, and buy 
themselves food before the night should set in. 



But Jesus would not send the people away 
hungry at that late hour, and he said to the 
disciples, They need not depart — give ye 
them to eat. 

The disciples did not know how this was 
to be accomplished, for they had but five 
loaves and two fishes, and if they had 
attempted to buy food for such a multitude, 
two hundred pennyworth would not have 
been sufficient. 

They waited to see what Jesus would do, 
and he said, Make the men sit down. 

Now there was much grass in the place, 
so the men sat down, in number about five 
thousand. There were a hundred rows of 
them, and fifty men in each row. 

Then Jesus took into his hands the bread 
and the fishes, and looking up to heaven, he 
blessed the food. After this, he broke the 
bread, and divided the fishes also, and gave 
a portion to each of the twelve Apostles to 
set before the people. 

And so it was that they gave to each man 
as much as he desired, and yet there was 
always enough left for the next. Every one 
of the five thousand ate and was satisfied, 
and after that, when Jesus told the disciples 
to take up the broken pieces that remained, 
they filled twelve baskets with the fragments 
of the five barley loaves that remained over 
and above unto them that had eaten. 

Many Believe on Him. 

Then those men, when they had seen the 
miracle that Jesus did, said, This is, of a truth, 
that Prophet who should come into the world. 

When the children of Israel thought of 
the Messiah for whose coming their fathers 
and their father's fathers had looked forward 
with eager hope, they always pictured him 
as a mighty king. 

The miracle that Jesus had just wrought, 
convinced the people that he was indeed the 




CHRIST FEEDING THE MULTITUDE. 



404 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



405 



Messiah, and they could not understand his 
unwillingness to lead them against their 
enemies. They tried to take him by force 
and make him a king, but he would not 
yield to their wishes. 

All through his life, Jesus sought in vain 
to make his followers understand that he had 
come to found a kingdom, not of earth but 
of heaven, and that the enemies against 
whom he waged war were not human beings, 
but wicked thoughts and evil deeds. It was 
not till long afterwards that they knew what 
he meant by the saying, My kingdom is not 
of this world. 

They Thought He Was a Spirit. 

At last all the people were sent away to 
their own homes. Night had now fallen, 
and Jesus was able to obtain that quiet time 
for communion with God which he had so 
greatly desired. He told his disciples to go 
back without him by ship to Capernaum, 
saying that he himself would follow them 
later, and they went down to the shore and 
launched their ship, leaving him in prayer 
upon the mountain side. 

It ought to have taken two or three hours 
only to sail to Capernaum, but the night 
was stormy, and when midnight was already 
passed, the disciples were still far away. The 
sails were of no use, for the wind was con- 
trary, and they had been obliged to take to 
the oars, but even so they made little pro- 
gress. The wind was blowing heavily 
against them, and they were faint and weary 
after the long day's labor. 

By-and-by, in the fourth watch of the 
night, in the thick darkness that comes 
before the dawn, they saw the figure of a 
man coming towards them, clothed in white 
garments. 

He was walking on the crests of the 
waves, and they cried out for fear, supposing 



that they had seen a spirit. But their fear 
was soon dispelled, for they heard a well- 
known voice which rose above the raging of 
the wind, and said to them, Be of good 
cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. 

It was Jesus, who had seen their distress, 
and had come to help them. They knew 
his voice, and Peter cried out, Lord, if it be 
thou, bid me come unto thee upon the 
water. 

Jesus answered, Come, and Peter left the 
ship and walked upon the water to go to 
Jesus. But when he saw the wind boister- 
ous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he 
cried, Lord, save me ! 

Then Jesus stretched out his hand, and 
) caught him, and said unto him, O thou of 
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ? 

After this, they both entered into the ship, 
and immediately the wind ceased, so that 
they soon touched the coast of Capernaum. 

The next day, Jesus entered into the 
synagogue, and taught. The people whom 
he had fed on the previous evening had also 
made their way to Capernaum, seeking for 
Jesus, but they were astonished to find that 
he had arrived before them, for they had seen 
the disciples leave without him, and they 
asked him, Master, when earnest thou 
hither ? 

The Bread of Heaven. 

Jesus did not answer their question, but 
he said, Ye seek me because ye did eat of 
the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for 
the meat which perisheth, but for that meat 
which endureth unto everlasting life. 

Then he went on to say to them, The 
bread of God is he which cometh down 
from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 
I am the bread of life. I came down from 
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the 
will of him that sent me. 



406 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



They did not understand his meaning, but 
afterwards he made it more plain to his dis- 
ciples. The words that I speak unto you, 
he said, they are spirit and they are life. 

In consequence of the enmity of the 
Pharisees, Jesus again left Capernaum, and 
this time he went away to a greater distance, 
even as far as the land of Phenicia, to the 
coasts of the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon. 

He did not wish to do any mighty works 
in these places, for he had left the land of 
Israel because he desired rest, and time for 
quiet thought and prayer ; but even here the 
people had heard of him, and his fame could 
not be hid. 

As he was journeying in that country, 
there came a Gentile woman, who cried unto 
him, saying, Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 
thou Son of David ; my daughter is griev- 
ously vexed with a devil. 

The Daughter Was Cured. 

Jesus answered her not a word, but the 
woman continued to follow him, and the dis- 
ciples, who were vexed that she should be so 
persistent, said to him, Send her away, for 
she crieth after us. 

This Jesus would not do ; but he said 
aloud, so that the woman could hear it, I am 
not sent but unto the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel. 

But though the woman heard this, she 
did not even then give up hope. Her great 
love for her daughter urged her on, and 
coming nearer, she fell at the feet of Jesus, 
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 

Jesus saw that she was most earnest in 
her request, and in order to make a yet 
further trial of her faith, he said, It is not 
meet to take the children's bread, and to cast 
it to dogs. Meekly she answered, Yea, 
Lord, but even the dogs eat of the crumbs 
that fall from their master's table. 



Then Jesus felt that she need be tried no 
longer, and he said unto her, O woman, 
great is thy faith. Be it done unto thee even 
as thou wilt. The devil is gone out of thy 
daughter. 

Once before, in the case of the Roman 
centurion, Jesus had marvelled at the faith 
of a Gentile. This poor woman, in like 
manner, had shown greater faith than many 
of the children of Israel. As soon as Jesus 
had spoken the words that she had greatly 
desired to hear, she turned away fully satis- 
fied ; and when she came home, she found 
her daughter cured, and lying peacefully 
upon the bed. 

After leaving the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, 
Jesus returned into Galilee by a route which 
led him through the region of Decapolis, or 
the Ten Cities. 

This country lies to the east of Galilee, 
and it was here that Jesus had landed, some 
time before, when he cured the man 
possessed with devils. The people had then 
been afraid of his power, and had besought 
him to depart out of their coasts. But since 
that time, the man who had been healed had 
spread abroad the knowledge of what Jesus 
had done for him, and now all the people 
gathered round Jesus, bringing with them 
those that were blind, lame, dumb, crippled, 
and many others. They cast them down at 
his feet, and he healed them. 

He Both Heard and Spoke. 

Among the rest was a man who was deaf, 
and had an impediment in his speech, so that 
it was impossible to understand what he said. 
Jesus took him aside from the multitude, and 
putting his fingers into his ears, he spit, and 
touched his tongue. 

Then he looked up to heaven and sighed, 
for his spirit was oppressed by all the misery 
and suffering around him ; but he knew that 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



407 



through the help of the Father in heaven the 
evil could be overcome. After this, he again 
looked at the man, and pronounced a 
Hebrew word, which means, Be opened. 
Immediately his ears were opened, and the 
•cord that had fastened down his tongue was 
loosed, so that he could speak plainly. 

Jesus charged the people that they should 
not tell anyone of what had been done, but 
the more he charged them, so much the 
more a great deal they published it, for they 
were beyond measure astonished ; and they 
said, He hath done all things well. He 
rnaketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb 
to speak. 

The consequence was that, as before, the 
multitude gathered round Jesus more closely 
than ever, and for three whole days after this, 
he taught and healed them without ceasing. 

They were now in a desert place, and the 
food that the people had brought with them 
was all gone. Then Jesus said to his 
disciples, I have compassion on the multitude, 
for they have now been with me three days, 
and have nothing to eat ; and if I send them 
away fasting to their own houses, they will 
faint by the way, for divers of them came 
from far. 

Only a Few Loaves and Fishes. 

The disciples thought, perhaps, of the 
time, not so long ago, when he had formerly 
fed the multitude, but all they said was, 
From whence can a man satisfy these men 
with bread, here in the wilderness ? 

Jesus asked them, how many loaves have 
ye ? They answered, Seven, and a few little 
fishes. Then, as before, Jesus commanded 
the people to sit down on the ground, and 
he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and 
gave thanks. After this, he divided them, 
and gave the pieces to the disciples, and the 
disciples gave them to the multitude. 



And they did all eat and were filled, and 
they took up of the broken pieces that re- 
mained, seven baskets full. Now they that 
had eaten were about four thousand men, 
besides women and children. 

After this, Jesus sent away the multitude, 
and taking ship, he crossed over to the other 
side of the lake, and returned to Caper- 
naum. 

He was, however, obliged to leave it again 
almost immediately on account of the ill- 
will of the Pharisees ; and this time he set 
his face towards the north-east. 

A Man's Sight Restored. 

He had to pass near the cities of Beth- 
saida and Caesarea Philippi, and when he 
was in the neighborhood of Bethsaida, they 
brought to him a blind man, beseeching him 
that he would give him back his sight. 

Jesus took him by the hand and led him 
away from the town, and when he had laid 
his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw 
anything. The man looked up and said, I 
see men as trees, walking. Then Jesus 
again laid his hands upon his eyes, and now 
his sight was altogether restored, and he 
could see clearly. 

Later on, when they had come near to the 
town of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus one day 
asked his disciples, Whom say the people 
that I am. 

They answered, Some say that thou art 
John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and 
others say that Jeremiah or one of the old 
prophets is risen again. 

He said unto them, But whom say ye that 
I am ? Simon Peter answered, Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God. 

Then Jesus said unto him, Blessed art 
thou, Simon the son of Jonah, for flesh and 
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my 
Father which is in heaven. And I say unto 



408 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this Rock 
I will build my church, and the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it. And I will give 
unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatso- 
ever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed 
in heaven. The word Peter means the 
Rock. 

After this, Jesus began to tell his disciples 
that a great trouble was before them. Soon, 
he said, they would go up to Jerusalem, and 
then he would suffer many things of the 
elders and chief priests and Scribes, and 
would be killed, but on the third day he 
would rise again. 

Peter Sharply Rebuked. 

They heard what he said, but they could 
not believe it, or understand that he was 
speaking, in truth, of suffering and death. 
It was but now that Peter had declared him 
to be the Messiah, and Jesus had approved 
his words. How could it be that he was 
going to be put to death ? Surely, when 
they reached Jerusalem, the chief priests 
would receive him with honor, and he would 
reign gloriously! If otherwise, would it not 
be better to refrain from going to Jerusalem 
at all ? There were men in abundance in 
Galilee who were ready to hail Jesus as their 
king. 

Peter even ventured to remonstrate with 
him, and answered him, saying, This be far 
from thee, Lord. This shall not be unto 
thee. 

But Jesus rebuked him sharply, and said, 
Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an 
offence unto me, for thou savorest not the 
things that be of God, but those that be of 
men. 

He meant to teach his disciples, and 
through them all mankind, that the worst 



service a man can render to his friend, is that 
of trying to dissuade him from the path of 
duty, even though it may seem to be the 
path of trial and of failure. 

And then he added, in words like those 
which he had used in sending out the twelve 
Apostles, If any man will come after me, let 
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and 
follow me. For whosoever will save his life 
shall lose it ; but whosoever will lose his life 
for my sake, the same shall find it. For 
what is a man profited, if he gain the whole 
world and lose his own soul ? Or what shall 
a man give in exchange for his soul ? For 
the Son of Man shall come in the glory of 
his Father with his angels, and then he shall 
reward every man according to his works. 

A Snow-Capped Mountain. 

Passing on from the neighborhood of 
Caesarea Philippi, Jesus continued to journey 
northwards with his disciples. Before them 
in the distance there shone the summit of a 
noble mountain, covered with perpetual 
snow. It was called Mount Hermon, and 
its glistening crown could be seen for many 
miles away, as it stood out, grand and beau- 
tiful, against the evening sky. 

It was towards this mountain that Jesus 
was now journeying, and at last, on the 
eighth day, he reached its foot. The night 
was already coming on, but he would not 
delay beginning to make the ascent, and, 
leavkig the rest of the disciples below, he 
went forward with only the three that he 
loved the best, Peter and James and John. 

But after a time, the three disciples, who 
were tired after their day's journey, became 
heavy with sleep, and Jesus left them to lie 
down and rest, whilst he himself climbed 
higher up the mountain, that he might 
spend the time in prayer. His mind was 
filled with the thought of all that was to- 




THE GOOD SHEPHERD 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



409 



befall him at Jerusalem, and he desired to 
gain strength from God to tread the throny 
path that lay before him. 

Meanwhile Peter and James and John 
had fallen into a deep sleep, but suddenly 
they awoke, and became aware that some- 
thing very solemn and wonderful was taking 



They were speaking of his death, which was 
to take place at Jerusalem. 

Never before had the disciples beheld so 
glorious a vision, and as they gazed upon the 
altered form of their Master, they were filled 
with awe and solemn rapture. They longed 
to continue looking forever on that wondrous 




THE TRANSFIGURATION 



place. Looking up towards that part of the 
mountain where Jesus had been praying, 
they beheld him transfigured before them. 
His countenance did shine as the sun, and 
his raiment was white as the light. 

And behold there were two others — 
Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah, the 
great prophet, who were talking with Jesus. 



sight, and Peter cried out, Lord, it is good 
for us to be here ; and let us make three 
tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, 
and one for Elijah. 

He hardly knew what he said, but he felt 
that he would like to continue there forever, 
living in tents made of branches upon the 
mountain-side. 



410 



MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 



But even as he spoke, there came a cloud 
which overshadowed them, and the disciples 
feared as they entered into it. Then they 
heard a voice coming out of the cloud which 
said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
•well pleased. Hear ye him. And they fell 
upon their faces to the earth, overpowered 
with awe at the voice of God. 

The Lunatic Child. 

How long they remained thus they knew 
not, but after a while they felt some one 
touch them, and looking up, they perceived 
that the vision was past, and that Jesus had 
.descended from the height above, and was 
•standing by their side. 

From the majesty of the lonely mountain- 
top, from the peace and the rapture of 
communion with God, Jesus descended with 
his three disciples into the plain. 

As they approached the place where they 
liad left the rest, they perceived a great 
multitude gathered together, with the 
disciples in the midst, and certain of the 
Scribes and Pharisees, clamoring and dis- 
puting. 

The radiance which the disciples had 
beheld, had not as yet entirely left the face 
of Jesus, and as he came near, the multitude 
gazed at him with astonishment, and running 
towards him, saluted him. 

He asked what was the cause of the 
tumult, and one of them answered, Master, 
I beseech thee to look upon my son, for he 
vis mine only child. He is lunatic and sore 
vexed, and, behold, a spirit taketh him, and 
he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him 
that he foameth. And I brought him to 
thy disciples that they should cast it out, and 
they could not. 

Jesus was grieved that his disciples should 
have been unable to cast out the evil spirit, 
ifor he had already given them this power, 



and he cried out, O faithless and perverse 
generation, how long shall I be with you ? 
How long shall I suffer you ? Then, turn- 
ing to the father he said, bring thy son 
hither to me. 

The boy was brought forward into the 
midst, but as he was coming, the devil 
dashed him down and tore him with griev 
ous convulsions, and he fell upon the ground, 
and wallowed, foaming. 

Jesus asked the father, How long is it 
since this hath come unto him ? 

He said, From a child. And ofttimes it 
hath cast him into the fire and into the 
waters to destroy him ; but if thou canst do 
anything, have compassion on us and help 
us. 

All things, answered Jesus, are possible to 
him that believeth. 

Then the father of the child cried out, 
and said with tears, Lord, I believe — help 
thou mine unbelief. 

The Evil Spirit Came Out. 

And he to whom no one ever appealed in 
vain for help, had compassion on the poor 
father, and turning again to the child, he 
rebuked the devil within him, saying, Thou 
dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come 
out of him, and enter no more into him. 

The spirit cried out and again convulsed 
the boy, but at last it left him, and he lay on 
the ground as one dead, insomuch that many 
of the crowd said, He is dead. 

But Jesus took him by the hand, and 
lifted him up, and delivered him again to his 
father, cured and in his right mind. 

Afterwards, when they were alone, the 
disciples asked Jesus why it was that they 
had been unable to cast out the evil spirit, 
for before, when Jesus had sent them out by 
two and two, they had cast out many devils. 
He answered, Because of your unbelief. 



CHAPTER XXX, 



Lesson from a Little Child — The Unjust Steward — Money Found in a Strange 
Place — Feast of Tabernacles — Pharisees Angry — The Man Blind from his Birth 

. Ten Lepers Healed — Jesus Blessing Little Children — The Good Samaritan — 

Jesus at Jerusalem and Bethany — The Raising of Lazarus — Two Blind Men 
Receive their Sight. 




ESUS now turned his back upon 
the beautiful snow mountain, and 
began his homeward journey 
towards Capernaum. As they 
went, he again spoke to his dis- 
ciples of going up to Jerusalem, 
and of how he would be deliv- 
ered into the hands of wicked men, and be 
killed, and after three days would rise again. 
They listened to his words, but did not in 
;he least understand their meaning. The 
one thing that filled their minds was the 
thought of going up to Jerusalem. Jesus 
had now told them plainly that he was the 
Messiah, and they made sure that when he 
next went there, he would be received with 
honor by the chief priests and Scribes and 
Pharisees. 

So much, indeed, were they occupied with 
these thoughts, that on the way to Caper- 
naum, they began disputing with one another 
as to which 3f them should be the greatest 
h the kingdom of heaven, which they sup- 
rosed their Master would now establish in 
vi some outward form. 

Jesus said nothing at the time, but in the 
evening, after they had reached Capernaum, 
and were sitting in the house at their evening 
meal, he asked them what it was that they 
had been disputing about on the way. 

They were ashamed to tell him ; but Jesus 
knew what it was, and he called a little child 



to him, and said to the disciples, Verily, I 
say unto you, except ye be converted, and 
become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, 
therefore, shall humble himself as this little 
child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven. If any man desire to be first, the 
same shall be last of all, and the servant of 
all. This was the only way to become first. 

The Little Child. 

This was not the only time when the 
question arose among the disciples as to 
which of them should be the greatest, and 
Jesus used to tell them that in the kingdom of 
heaven it was not as in the kingdoms of this 
world, where those who had the most power 
are accounted the greatest. On the contrary, 
he said, It shall not be so among you, but 
whosoever will be great among you, let him 
be your servant, and whosoever will be chief 
among you, let him be a servant ; even as 
the Son of Man came not to be served by 
others, but himself to serve, and to give his 
life a ransom for many. 

Jesus went on to tell the disciples that 
those who showed kindness to little children 
were really doing a service to himself, and 
that he would accept the kindness as if it 
were actually done unto him. 

He warned them also that a terrible pun- 
ishment would overtake those who, by set 

411 



412 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



ting them a bad example, should do harm 
to little children, or any that were young or 
ignorant ; or who by carelessness or wicked- 
ness should cause them to fall into sin. It 
would be better for them, he said, that a 
millstone should be cast about their necks, 
and that they should be drowned in the 
depths of the sea, 

After this, Jesus spoke to them about the 



he had, that payment might be made. 

Then the servant fell down at his feet, and 
besought him, saying, Lord, have patience 
with me, and I will pay thee all. 

And the lord of that servant was moved 
with compassion, and he set him free, and 
forgave him the whole debt. 

But the same servant went out, and found 
one of his fellow-servants who owed him a 




JESUS TEACHING HUMILITY BY A 

duty of forgiving those who had done them 
some wrong, and he told them a parable of 
a certain king, who had a servant that owed 
him ten thousand talents. This was an enor- 
mous sum — for a talent was worth about 
twelve hundred dollars of our money — and 
as the servant had not wherewith to pay, his 
lord commanded him to be sold into slavery 
with his wife and his children and all that 



LITTLE CHILD. 



small debt of a hundred pence, and instead 
of remembering the mercy that had just been 
shown to him, he laid hands on him, and 
took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that 
thou owest. 

His fellow-servant fell down at his feet, 
just as he had fallen at the feet of the king, 
and said, in the very same words, Have 
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



418 



But he would not; and he went and cast 
him into prison until he should have paid 
the debt. 

His fellow-servants saw what was done, 
and they were very sorry, and went and told 
their lord all that was done. Then the king i 
called that servant into his presence, and said 
to him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave 
thee all that great debt, because thou de- 
siredst me. Shouldest not thou also have 
compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I 
had pity on thee ? 

The Tribute-Money. 

And the king was angry, and he delivered 
him over unto the tormentors until he should 
have paid all that was due unto him. 

Even so, ended Jesus, shall my heavenly 
Father do also unto you, if ye from your 
hearts forgive not every one the trespasses 
of his brother. 

Whilst Jesus was at Capernaum, he stayed 
as usual in the house of Peter, and hearing 
that he had returned, the men who collected 
the tribute-money came to Peter, and asked, 
Doth not your Master pay tribute ? 

This was not the tax paid to the Romans, 
but another tax of half a silver shekel — about 
eighteen cents of our money — which was 
claimed for the expenses of the temple ser- 
vices. It was paid by every Jew, in what- 
ever part of the world he might live, and 
when Peter was asked if his Master was wil- 
ling to pay the tribute, he answered, Yes. 

But when he returned to the house, and 
told his Master of what he had said, there 
was no money for paying the tax. Then 
Jesus said to him, Go thou to the sea and 
cast a hook, and take the fish that first 
cometh up, and when thou hast opened his 
mouth, thou shalt find a silver shekel. That 
take, and give unto them for me and thee. 

The brethren of Jesus now came to him, and 



urged him to go up to Jerusalem, and make 
himself known as the Messiah. The Feast 
of Tabernacles was at hand, and this, they 
said, would be a good opportunity, for 
Jerusalem would then be crowded with 
people. 

Jesus at the Feast. 

But Jesus thought otherwise. His time 
was not yet come, and he said to his breth- 
ren that if he went at all to the feast, it 
would not be to proclaim himself the 
Messiah, but as it were in secret. He told 
them to journey on without him, and he 
himself remained in Galilee for some days 
after they had left. 

Then he went to Jerusalem alone, and 
reached the city after the feast had begun, 
when all the people were wondering whether 
he would come or not. His first act was to 
go into the temple and teach, and the people 
listened with astonishment, for they knew 
that he had been brought up in no school of 
learning ; but Jesus answered, My teaching 
is not mine, but his that sent me. 

As in Galilee he had taught the people 
by parables, so now he drew lessons from 
the things around him. While the Feast of 
Tabernacles lasted, it was the custom each 
morning to perform a great ceremony called 
the Drawing of Water. 

The people assembled at the temple, and 
when the morning sacrifice had been laid 
upon the altar, the priest took a golden jug 
and carried it down to the Pool of Siloam, 
which was at some little distance. There he 
filled it with water, and then returned to the 
temple ; and as he re-entered the gates, the 
rest of the priests blew a joyful blast upon 
the silver trumpets, and continued to blow 
until the priest had carried the golden jug 
up to the altar and poured out the water 
into a silver basin. 



414 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



Then all the people sang the six Psalms 
from the 113th to 11 8th, and when they 
came to the verse, For he is good, for his 
mercy endureth for ever, they waved the 
palm branches which they carried in their 
hands, and rejoiced before the Lord. 

On the last day of the feast, after the 
people had witnessed this ceremony every 
day for seven days, Jesus began to tell them 
about the living water of which he had 
spoken to the woman of Samaria, and he 
cried aloud so that all could hear, If any 
man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 

Again, on another day, Jesus pointed to 
the two gigantic golden candlesticks which 
stood in one of the temple courts. They 
were fifty cubits high, that is to say, about 
fourteen times the height of a man, and at 
the top of each were five lamps which were 
reached by a very long ladder. Every even- 
ing while the feast lasted, these lamps were 
lighted, and they lit up the whole city. 

While the people were occupied in looking 
at the lighting of the lamps, Jesus said unto 
them, I am the Light of the world. He 
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, 
but shall have the Light of Life. 

Would not Arrest Him. 

Many of the people would gladly have 
listened to the words of Jesus, but the 
Pharisees always interrupted him, and tried 
to make it appear that he had said some- 
thing wrong. They were afraid lest he 
should gain an influence over the people and 
lead them to think less of their own teaching. 

They even went so far as to send officers 
to seize him, but the officers returned with- 
out their prisoner. Whilst they were wait- 
ing for an opportunity to take him, they 
heard the words that he was speaking to the 
people, and they went back to the Pharisees 
and said, Never man spake like this man. 



The Pharisees were angry, but one of 
them named Nicodemus, the same who had 
once visited Jesus by night, asked the rest 
if it was fair to condemn a man before he 
had been tried and found guilty. They 
knew that it was against their law to do so, 
but they would not pay any attention, and 
only mocked at Nicodemus, asking if he 
also was a follower of the Prophet of Gali- 
lee. 

Jesus again told the people, on the day 
after these things, that he was the Light of 
the World, and the Pharisees, as usual, 
began to contradict and to question him. 
They said, Thou bearest witness of thyself, 
thy witness is not true. 

In answer to this, Jesus told them that he 
had been sent by God his heavenly Father 
to teach them things that he himself had 
been taught by God ; and he said, Your 
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and 
he saw it, and was glad. 

They Wanted to Stone Him. 

The Jews answered, Thou art not yet 
fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abra- 
ham ? 

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 

At these words they were filled with hor- 
ror, for it seemed to them that the most 
awful blasphemy had been uttered. They 
thought that Jesus, being a man, had made 
himself equal with God ; and as the punish- 
ment decreed in the Law for those who 
should blaspheme the name of God was 
death by stoning, they took up stones to cast 
at him. But the hour for him to die was not 
yet come, and he hid himself, and went out 
of the temple. 

Almost immediately afterwards, it hap- 
pened that Jesus noticed a beggar, who was 
well known in Jerusalem as having been 




"WHEREAS I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE.' 



415 



416 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



blind from his birth. The disciples were 
now again with their Master, and they asked 
him saying, Who did sin, this man or his 
parents, that he was born blind ? 

The News Spread Quickly. 

It was a common belief among the Jews 
that afflictions were the direct consequence of 
sin; but Jesus told the disciples that they 
must not suppose that either the man himself 
or his parents had sinned more than others, 
but that they should presently see the works 
of God manifested in him. I must work the 
works of him that sent me while it is day, he 
said ; the night cometh when no man can 
work. 

After this, he anointed the eyes of the 
bKnd man, and told him to go and wash in 
the Pool of Siloam. This he did, and pres- 
ently came back, cured and able to see. 

The news that the blind man had been 
restored to sight was quickly spread abroad. 
The neighbors could hardly believe that he, 
whom they now saw with his eyes open, 
was the blind beggar they had known so well. 
Some said it is he ; others said, No, but it is 
like him ; but the man himself said, I am he. 

Then they asked him, How were thine 
eyes opened ? He answered, The man that 
is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine 
eyes, and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash ; 
so I went and washed, and I received my 
sight. 

The news soon reached the ears of the 
Pharisees, and the man who had been blind 
was brought before them, and made to re- 
peat the whole story of how he had been 
cured ; but as it happened that the day on 
which this had taken place was the Sabbath, 
the Pharisees said, This man is not from 
God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath 
day. 

Some of them, however, disagreed, and 



said, How can a man that is a sinner do 
such miracles ? 

There was thus a division among them, 
and they turned again to the man, and asked, 
what he thought of him. He answered, He 
is a prophet. 

But the Pharisees were not pleased with 
this answer, and they tried next to persuade 
themselves that the man had not been really 
cured, so they sent for his parents, and 
asked them, Is this your son who ye say 
was born blind ? 

The parents answered, We know that this 
is our son, and that he was born blind, but 
how he now seeth we know not, or who 
hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is 
o r age, ask him, he shall speak for himself. 

Believed With all His Heart. 

The parents were, in fact, afraid of the 
Pharisees, for they had agreed already that 
if any man should confess that Jesus was 
the Christ, he should not be allowed to come 
any more to the synagogue to join in the 
worship of God. 

Then the Pharisees called the man again, 
and told him that Jesus was a sinner. But 
the man answered, Whether he be a sinner 
or no, I know not ; one thing I know, that 
whereas I was blind, now I see. If this 
man were not of God, he could do nothing. 

They tried to convince him that they were 
in the right, but when they could not make 
him change his opinion of the man who had 
cured him, they carried out their threat, and 
cast him out of the synagogue. 

Jesus heard what they had done, and 
desired to comfort him, so he found him out, 
and said, Dost thou believe in the Son of 
God? 

The man asked, Who is he, Lord, that I 
should believe in him ? And when Jesus 
answered, It is he that talketh with thee, he 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



417 



cried out, Lord I believe, and fell down at 
his feet, and worshipped him. 

After these things, Jesus returned for a 
short time to Galilee, and now it seemed to 
the disciples that their dearest wish was about 
to be fulfilled, for Jesus spoke of again going 
up to Jerusalem, and did not discourage those 
who expressed a wish to follow him thither. 

The disciples desired above all things that 
their Master should enter Jerusalem at the 
head of a great band of followers, for then 
they thought that all the people of the city 
would also rise up and follow him, and that 
the chief priests and Pharisees would be con- 
vinced that he was the Messiah. 

Jesus himself knew that it would be very 
different from this, and that the people of 
Jerusalem would reject him and put him to 
death, and this he often told his disciples, but 
they could not believe it, and were full of 
high hopes and expectations. 

Seventy Sent on Ahead. 

Many preparations were made for the 
march up to Jerusalem, for the number of 
those who desired to accompany Jesus was 
very great, and he chose out seventy of his 
followers and sent them on in front by two 
and two, to give notice of his coming to the 
people of the towns and villages through 
which he must pass, and prepare them to 
receive so great a host. As before, when 
the twelve were sent out, they were to heal 
the sick, to cast out devils, and to proclaim 
the kingdom of God. 

The first part of the journey was by water 
as far as the southern shore of the Lake of 
Galilee, and looking back from the ship, 
Jesus gazed for the last time on the country 
he had loved so well. The clear, beautiful 
waters of the lake were lit up with the rays 
of the setting sun, which glowed upon the 
red sails of the fishing boats ; all along its 

27 



shores nestled the towns and villages where 
he had preached and labored ; his own city 
of Capernaum lay before him in the distance 
like a garden of trees and flowers. 

It was indeed a lovely scene, but the 
heart of Jesus was filled with grief. He had 
come to bring these people a message from 
God, to teach them a truth far nobler and 
purer than anything they had ever before 
known, and they had heard it with indif- 
ference. 

The Doomed Cities. 

As an earthly deliverer they were indeed 
willing to receive him, and for the miracles 
which he did they would follow him from 
place to place, but for the deliverance from 
sin which he offered them, they cared nothing. 

As he looked back and thought of all this, 
tears filled his eyes, and words of terrible 
warning burst from his lips. Woe unto thee, 
Chorazin ! he said, Woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! 
For if the mighty works which were done in 
you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they 
would have repented long ago in sackcloth 
and ashes. 

And thou, Capernaum, which are exalted 
to heaven, shalt be brought down to hell, 
for if the mighty works which have been 
done in thee had been done in Sodom, it 
would have remained until this day. I say 
unto you that it shall be more tolerable for 
the land of Sodom in the day of judgment 
than for thee. 

After leaving the lake of Galilee, Jesus 
intended to pass through the country of 
Samaria, but as he approached the first Sam- 
aritan village, the messengers who had gone 
before to prepare the people for his coming, 
came back to say that they would not re- 
ceive him, because he was going to Jeru- 
salem. 

This was on account of the quarrel 



418 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



between the Jews and the Samaritans, and 
when the disciples heard of it, they were 
very angry. James and John especially, 
were filled with indignation at this insult to 
their Master, and they said to him, Master, 
wilt thou that we bid fire to come down 
from heaven and consume them, even as 
Elijah did ? 

But Jesus rebuked them, saying, Ye know 
not what manner of spirit ye are of. The 
Son of Man is not come to destroy men's 
lives, but to save them. And he turned 
away to another village, crossing the Jordan, 
and taking the other road to Jerusalem, 
through the country of Persea. 

The Lepers Healed. 

As he was going through that district, it 
happened one day that he was nearing a cer- 
tain village, when he saw at a distance ten 
men who were lepers. They stood afar off, 
because of the law which obliged lepers to 
keep away from all other men, but they 
lifted up their voices and cried, Jesus, Master, 
have mercy on us. 

Jesus cried out to them in answer, Go and 
show yourselves to the priest. 

They knew well what this meant. It 
meant that he had healed them, and that 
they were to go and have their recovery cer- 
tified by the priest according to the law of 
Moses. They set out, therefore, and on the 
way it became evident that the disease had 
left them. 

Then one of the ten, as soon as he per- 
ceived this, turned back, and with a loud 
voice glorified God, and fell down at the feet 
of Jesus, giving him thanks, for now he was 
free to come near him. 

This man was a Samaritan, and Jesus 
answering said, Were there not ten cleansed, 
but where are the nine? There are not 
found that returned to give glory to God 



save this stranger. And he said unto him, 
Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee 
whole. 

On another day, Jesus was about to enter 
a certain city towards evening, and the 
women of the place, who had heard of his 
coming from the messengers sent on in front, 
assembled together and brought out their 
young children that he should bless them. 

Jesus was wearied with his journey, and 
when the disciples saw the crowd of women 
waiting for him, they rebuked them, and told 
them that they must not trouble the Master. 

But Jesus was angry with the disciples for 
wishing to send them away, and he said, 
Suffer the little children to come unto me, 
and forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
dom of God. Verily I say unto you, Who- 
soever shall not receive the kingdom of 
God as a little child, shall in no wise enter 
therein. 

And he took them up in his arms, laid his 
hands upon them, and blessed them. 

Help for a Poor Woman. 

As he journeyed through the country of 
Persea, Jesus entered into the synagogue on 
the Sabbath days to teach the people, accord- 
ing to his custom. 

On one of these days, it happened that 
there was a woman in the synagogue who 
had been afflicted for eighteen years with an 
infirmity that caused her to be bowed down 
to the earth, so that she could not hold her- 
self upright. 

When Jesus saw her, he called her to 
come near to him, and said, Woman, thou 
art loosed from thine infirmity. Then he 
laid his hands upon her and healed her, and 
immediately she became straight, and glori- 
fied God. 

But when the ruler of the synagogue saw 
what was done, he was filled with indigna- 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



419 



tion, and said to the people, There are six 
days in which men ought to work ; in them, 
therefore, come and be healed, and not on 
the Sabbath day. 

He spoke in a spirit of tyranny and self- 
ishness, and Jesus rebuked him, and asked 
whether every one of the people who were 



enemies were ashamed, and all the people 
rejoiced for all the glorious things that were 
done by him. 

Not long after this, it happened that Jesus 
was invited to dine at the house of a Pharisee 
upon the Sabbath day. As usual, the doors 
were open to the street, and while the feast 




JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 



present, was not accustomed on the Sabbath 
to take his ox or his ass from the stall, and 
lead him away to watering? And if it was 
right to show mercy to animals on the Sab- 
bath, who could say that he had done wrong 
in showing mercy to this poor woman ? 
When he had said these things, all his 



was going on, there entered a man who was 
afflicted with a disease called the dropsy. 

The Pharisees watched to see what Jesus 
would do, and he, knowing that they objected 
to his healing on the Sabbath day, gave them 
an opportunity of saying why they thought 
it wrong to do so. Is it lawful, he asked, to 



420 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



heal on the Sabbath, or not? But they did 
not answer, and he healed the man, and sent 
him away. Then he said, Which of you, 
having an ox or an ass that had fallen into a 
pit, would not straightway pull him out on 
the Sabbath day? 

Still they kept silence, for they had no 
answer to make, and turning away from that 
subject, Jesus went on to speak a parable. 
He had noticed how each of them > on ar- 
riving, had tried to secure for himself the 
seat intended for the most honored guest, 
and he wished to teach them a lesson of 
humility. 

The Pharisee and Publican. 

Two men, he said, went up into the tem- 
ple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other 
a publican. 

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with 
himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as 
other men are, extortioners, unjust, or even 
as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I 
give tithes of all that I possess. 

But the publican, standing afar off, would 
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, 
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be 
merciful to me a sinner. 

I tell you, this man went down to his 
house justified rather than the other; for 
every one that exalteth himself shall be 
abased, but he that humbleth himself shall 
be exalted. 

After this, as they were still talking about 
the giving of feasts, Jesus said to his host, 
When thou makest a dinner or a supper, 
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither 
thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors, lest 
they also bid thee again and a recompense 
be made thee. But when thou makest a 
feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, 
the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, for they 
cannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be 



recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 
One of the guests then began to speak of 
the future life, and of the blessedness of 
those who should attain to the kingdom of 
God, and Jesus told them that all men were 
called upon to enter into this kingdom, 
although but few cared to avail themselves 
of the offer. 

All Excused Themselves. 

A certain man, he said, made a great sup- 
per, and bade many, and sent out his ser- 
vants at supper-time to say to them that 
were bidden, Come, for all things are now 
ready. 

But they all with one consent began to 
make excuse. The first said unto him, I 
have bought a piece of ground, and must 
needs go and see it. I pray thee, have me 
excused. And another said, I have bought 
five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. 
I pray thee, have me excused. And another 
said, I have married a wife, and therefore 
I cannot come. 

So that servant came and showed his lord 
these things. Then the master of the house, 
being angry, said to his servant, Go out 
quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, 
and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, 
and the halt, and the blind. 

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as 
thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 

And the lord said unto the servant, Go 
out into the highways and hedges, and com- 
pel them to come in, that my house may be 
filled. For I say unto you, that none of 
those men which were bidden, shall taste of 
my supper. 

The country of Persea, through which 
Jesus was now passing, was a rich land, 
where the people owned large flocks of 
sheep, and great barns in which they stored 
up the fruits of the earth. 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 

Jesus often warned them that a man's true 
life does not consist in the abundance of the 
cnings that he possesses, and he spoke much 
at this time of a certain gift of God which he 
called eternal life, the best of all blessings. 



421 

Good Master, what shall I do that I may 

inherit eternal life? 

Jesus answered, Why callest thou me good? 
There is none good but one, that is God, 
But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the com- 




ROBBERS LYING IN WAIT. 



One day, as he was journeying, a young 
man came running quickly towards him. 
He was a ruler and belonged to the party 
of the Pharisees, but he was not, like most 
of them, too proud to be taught; and throw- 
ing himself at the feet of Jesus, he asked him, 



mandments. The young man asked which, 
and when Jesus had repeated some of the 
Ten Commandments, he said, All these I have 
kept from my youth up. What lack I yet? 
It had been an upright and a beautiful life, 
and as Jesus looked upon the young man, 



422 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



he felt his heart kindle with love to him. If 
thou wilt be perfect, he said, go and sell that 
thou hast and give to the poor, and thou 
shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, 
take up the cross, and follow me. 

But when the young man heard that, he 
went away sorrowful, for he had great pos- 
sessions, and he could not make up his mind 



Law. The man answered, Thou shalt love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy mind ; and thy 
neighbor as thyself. 

Thou hast answered right, said Jesus. 
This do, and thou shalt live. 

But the lawyer knew that he had not loved 
his neighbor as himself, and so, pretending 




THE PRIEST AND LEVITE PASSING BY THE WOUNDED MAN. 



to give them all up, and begin a life of 
poverty and toil. 

Soon afterwards, as Jesus was teaching, a 
certain lawyer stood up and asked him the 
same question, Master, what shall I do to 
inherit eternal life? 

As in the case of the young ruler, Jesus 
referred the man to the Commandments, and 
asked him what he found in the book of the 



not to understand the Commandment, he 
said to Jesus, Who is my neighbor? 

Jesus wanted to show him that he was not 
so ignorant as he tried to appear, and so he 
spoke a parable, and said, A certain man 
went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and 
fell among thieves, who stripped him of his 
raiment, and wounded him, and departed, 
leaving him half dead. 




•^rTT^v^g^^^^S^ 



THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 



423 



424 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



And by chance there came down a certain 
priest that way, but when he saw him, he 
passed by on the other side. And likewise 
a certain Levite, when he was at the place, 
came and looked at him, and passed by on 
the other side. 

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, 
came where he was, and when he saw him, 
he had compassion on him, and went to him 
and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and 
wine, and set him on his own beast, and 
brought him to an inn and took care of him. 

And on the morrow, when he was depart- 
ing from the inn, he took out two pence and 
gave them to the host, and said unto him, 
Take care of him, and whatsoever thou 
spendest more, when I come again I will 
repay thee. 

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 
was neighbor to him that fell among the 
thieves? The lawyer answered, He that 
showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus 
unto him, Go and do thou likewise. 

On the Mount of Olives. 

Some time had been spent in journeying 
through the country of Persea, and winter 
had now come on. The Feast of the Dedi- 
cation of the temple, which was one of the 
lesser feasts of the Jews, was at hand, and 
as Jesus desired to go quietly once more to 
Jerusalem before entering the city at the 
head of the multitude, he determined to take 
his disciples only up to the feast, leaving the 
rest of the people behind. 

He promised them that at the next Pass- 
over, in the spring time, he would lead them 
up to Jerusalem, and meanwhile they re- 
mained in Peraea, or else returned to their 
own homes. 

The noise and bustle of crowded cities was 
always distasteful to Jesus, who loved the 
calm and the quiet of the country; and 



when he came up to Jerusalem, he never 
slept within the walls. When he had ended 
his day's work of teaching the people, he 
would leave the city in the evening with his 
disciples, and spend the night either in the 
open air on the neighboring Mount of Olives, 
or else in a village called Bethany, which 
was about two miles off. 

The House at Bethany. 

In this village of Bethany, there lived a 
family of three persons, two sisters and a 
brother, who loved and honored Jesus, and 
always made him welcome at their house. 
Their names were Martha, and Mary, and 
Lazarus. Jesus was staying with them at 
this time, for as it was now winter, it was too 
cold for sleeping out of doors. 

The two sisters were very unlike one 
another. Martha was active and clever, and 
she delighted in busying herself with prepa- 
tions for doing honor to their Guest. Mary, 
on the other hand, was of a quieter disposi- 
tion, and to her there was no greater joy 
than to sit at the feet of Jesus, and listen to 
his words. 

It seemed to Martha that her sister did 
not take quite her full share of the necessary 
work, and one day when Mary was sitting as 
usual at the feet of Jesus, while she herself 
was busy, she said to him, Master, dost thou 
not care that my sister hath left me to serve 
alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. 

But Jesus answered her, Martha, Martha, 
thou art careful and troubled about many 
things; but one thing is needful, and Mary 
hath chosen that good part which shall not 
be taken away from her. 

Each morning, Jesus left the peaceful 
house at Bethany and made his way into 
Jerusalem, where he spent the day in teach- 
ing the people. As he was walking one day 
in one of the corridors of the temple, the 




THE GOOD SHEPHERD DIVIDING THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS. 



425 



426 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



Jews came round him, saying, How long dost 
thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the 
Christ, tell us plainly. 

Jesus did not give them any direct answer, 
for he knew that the one thought they had 
about the Messiah was that he would lead 
them against the Romans, but he told them 
that the works he did would answer their 
question, and then he went on to speak by a 
parable, trying to make them understand 
that he had a better gift to offer them than 
victory over their enemies. 

The Sheep Hear His Voice. 

I am the Good Shepherd, he said. The 
Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
and they follow me, and I give unto them 
eternal life, and they shall never perish and 
no one shall pluck them out of my hand. 
My Father who gave them to me is greater 
than all, and no man is able to pluck them 
out of my Father's hand. I and my Father 
are one. 

At these words the Jews interrupted him, 
crying out that he had spoken blasphemy, 
and as before, they took up stones to cast at 
him, for they said that he, being a man, was 
making himself God. 

But Jesus reminded them of a passage in 
the Psalms in which men had been spoken 
of as gods, and as the children of the Most 
High ; and he said, If he called them gods 
unto whom the word of God came, say ye 
of him whom the Father hath sanctified and 
sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, 
because I said, I am i he Son of God ? If I 
do not the works of my Father, believe me 
not ; but if I do, though ye believe not me, 
believe the works, that ye may know and 
believe that the Father is in me, and I in him. 

But they only sought the more to kill 
him, and Jesus was obliged to leave them. 



He escaped out of their hands, and went 
back again to the region of Peraea on the 
other side of the Jordan, where he had left 
the people a short time before. 

For some time Jesus remained in Peraea, 
and the people whom he had left there gath- 
ered round him as before. Many also of 
the men of the country believed on him, 
remembering how John, who had baptized in 
this region, had pointed him out as the Mes- 
siah, and had told them to prepare for his 
coming. 

But a sad event took him back for a short 
time to the neighborhood of Jerusalem. 
Lazarus, who had so often received him at 
his house at Bethany, was smitten down with 
sickness, and one day, when Jesus was teach- 
ing the people, he received a message from 
the two sisters, saying, Lord, behold he 
whom thou lovest is sick. 

Jesus was grieved to hear of the trouble 
of his friends, and determined to go to them, 
but he said, This sickness is not unto death, 
but for the glory of God, that the Son of 
God may be glorified thereby. Moreover, 
being much occupied with the people, he 
remained for two days longer in the same 
place where he was. 

Death of Lazarus. 

On the third day, he said to his disciples, 
Let us go into Judaea again. Our friend 
Lazarus is fallen asleep, but I go that I may 
awake him out of sleep. 

The disciples tried to dissuade him, 
reminding him that only a few weeks before 
the Jews had sought to kill him. Besides, 
they said, if Lazarus could sleep, he would 
recover without the presence of Jesus. 

Then he told them plainly that Lazarus 
was dead. He said also that it was right 
for him to go to Bethany, and that when a 
man follows the light which shows him the 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



427 



path of duty, no real harm can come to him. 
He set out, therefore, on the third day, but 
paused when he came to the entrance of the 
village. By this time, Lazarus had been 
dead four days, and as is the custom in the 
East, he had been put into the grave on the 
very day of his death. Bethany was only 
two miles from Jerusalem ; and Lazarus, 
and Martha, and Mary, being well known in 
the city, many of their friends from Jerusa- 
lem had come out to comfort the two sisters 
concerning the death of their brother. 

The New Life. 

Jesus did not care to go to the crowded 
house, so he remained outside the village, 
sending word to Martha and Mary that he 
was there. Martha immediately hurried out 
to meet him, and cried out in her anguish, 
Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother 
would not have died. 

Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise 
again. 

She answered, I know that he shall rise 
again in the resurrection, at the last day. 

Jesus said, I am the Resurrection and the 
Life. He that believeth on me, though he 
were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever 
liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. 
Believest thou this ? 

She did not know exactly what his words 
meant, but she knew that she loved and 
trusted him, and was sure that anything he 
told her must be true, and she answered, 
Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, 
the Son of God, which should come into the 
world. 

Then she thought of her sister, sorrowing 
alone in the house, and she went back to 
fetch her. Going up to the side of Mary, 
she whispered in her ear, so that no one 
else should hear it, The Master is come, and 
calleth for thee. 



As soon as Mary heard that, she rose 
quickly, and went out to the place beyond 
the village where Jesus still was. The friends 
who had been trying to comfort her, saw her 
leave the house, and followed her, thinking 
she was going to the grave to weep there. 
But Mary did not heed them. There was 
only one friend who could give her any real 
comfort, and her whole heart was set upon 
seeing him. 

She hurried forward until she reached 
him, and then, with a fresh burst of tears, 
she threw herself at his feet, saying, as 
Martha had done, Lord, if thou hadst been 
here, my brother had not died. That was 
the one thought that had filled both their 
minds during these four long days of mourn- 
ing. 

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister 
and Lazarus, and when he saw Mary weep- 
ing at his feet, and the Jews that came with 
her, weeping also, he was overcome with 
anguish, and groaned in his spirit. Presently 
he said, Show me where ye have laid him. 

They led the way, and he followed, weep- 
ing, while the friends said one to another, 
Behold, how he loved him ! Some of them, 
however, were surprised that he who had 
been one of the dearest friends of Jesus 
should thus be cut off in the flower of 
his age, and they said, Could not this man, 
who opened the eyes of the blind, have 
caused that Lazarus should not have died ? 

" Lazarus, Come Forth ! " 

By this time they had come to the grave, 
which was a recess hewn out of a rock, with a 
large stone slab in front, to cover it. Again 
Jesus groaned in himself, and then he said, 
Take ye away the stone. 

Martha was at first unwilling to have this 
done, but when Jesus repeated his wish, she 
yielded. When it was accomplished, Jesus 



428 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father 
I thank thee that thou heardest me. Then 
with a loud voice, he cried out, Lazarus, 
come forth ! 

As before in Galilee, so here in Judaea, 
that voice reached the ears of the dead man. 
Those who were standing round the grave 
saw a sight which to their dying day they 
never forgot. From out of the tomb, which 



was no more need for consolation. The 
sorrow of the sisters had been turned into 
joy, their brother was restored to them alive 
and well, and the friends left them and went 
back to Jerusalem, many of them believing 
in Jesus. 

The news of the miracle that had been 
wrought, soon came to the ears of the 
Pharisees, who heard it with much alarm. 




THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. 



for four days had been closed up, there 
came a figure, bound round and round with 
grave-clothes, his feet and his hands tied 
together, and his face covered with a nap- 
kin. It was Lazarus, and Jesus told them 
to unfasten the grave-clothes that he might 
move freely. 

A great number of Jews had come to 
comfort Martha and Mary, but now there 



for they were afraid that soon all the people 
would believe in Jesus. They summoned a 
council, and having considered the matter, 
they determined to put him to death. 

He had done no wrong, but they were 
afraid of him. They knew that great num- 
bers of the people already looked upon him 
as the Messiah, and they supposed that 
sooner or later he would allow them to 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



429 



crown him king. This they were deter- 
mined to resist, for they did not believe in 
him. They had hardened their hearts, and 
persisted in thinking that the Messiah, when 
he came, would be a mighty emperor, not 
such a one as Jesus, who made himself the 
least of all and the servant of all. 

Moreover, he was their enemy, for he had 
openly rebuked their pride and their hypo- 
crisy. They hated him, and he must die. 
It was better, they said, that one man should 
perish, than that the whole nation should be 
plunged into strife and discord. 

The cowardly resolution was passed, and 
before they separated, the Pharisees issued a 
decree, that if any man knew where Jesus 
was to be found, he was to come and tell 
them, that they might take him prisoner. 

In the Wilderness. 

In consequence of this, Jesus was again 
obliged to leave the neighborhood of Jeru- 
salem. The village of Bethany was too 
near for him to remain there in safety, and 
he went away to a lonely part of the coun- 
try, called the Wilderness of Ephraim. 

Here he spent some time alone with his 
disciples, but the spring-time was now 
approaching, and with it the great Feast of 
the Passover. Jesus had promised the mul- 
titude who had followed him from Galilee, 
that at this time he would return into Peraea 
and lead them up from thence to Jerusalem; 
and though he knew well that the chief 
priests would put him to death, he did not 
hesitate for a moment to do as he had said. 

He left the wilderness of Ephraim, and 
descended into the plain, near the city of 
Jericho. There the people again gathered 
round him, and he led them towards the 
city. 

Just round Jericho, the country was green 
and fresh and beautiful, for it was watered by 



unfailing springs, so that there was never any 
drought. All manner of stately trees grew 
around the city, many of them laden with 
fruit, and the fields and gardens were so fair 
and sweet, that the place was sometimes 
called the Paradise of God. 

But there was one poor man to whom the 
lovely scene around him brought no delight, 
for he was blind. His name was Bartimaeus, 
and as he could not work for his bread, he 
sat all day long by the wayside, begging. 

Their Eyes Were Opened. 

Sitting there as usual one day, he heard 
the sound of a great multitude passing by, 
and asked what it meant. They told him 
that Jesus of Nazereth was drawing near, on 
his way to Jerusalem, and then Bartimaeus 
remembered how he had heard that Jesus 
had cured many that were blind and lame 
and otherwise afflicted. It was an oppor- 
tonity not to be lost, and, lifting up his voice, 
he cried aloud, Jesus, thou Son of David, 
have mercy on me ! 

The people who were in front rebuked 
him, and told him to hold his peace and not 
trouble the Master, but he only cried out so 
much the more, Thou Son of David, have 
mercy on me ! 

When Jesus heard the cry, he stood still, 
and commanded the man to be brought near, 
and some of the multitude went forward to 
fetch him. They told him that Jesus had 
sent for him, and he rose with eager haste, 
casting aside his long upper garment that he 
might not be hindered in his movements. 
Another blind man who had been sitting by 
his side went with him, and they were 
brought unto Jesus, who said to Bartimaeus, 
What wilt thou that I should do unto thee ? 

The blind man answered, Lord, that I may 
receive my sight. 

Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight, thy 



430 



LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 



faith hath saved thee. Then he touched his 
eyes and those of the other blind man, and 
immediately their eyes were opened. 

They were filled with joy and thankful- 
ness, and joining in the crowd of people, they 
also followed Jesus, glorifying God ; and all 
the people, when they saw it, gave praise in 
Hike manner unto God. 

The road from Jericho to Jerusalem led 
up a steep mountain pass, and as the journey 
occupied about six hours, it was necessary 
to rest and sleep at Jericho before beginning 
to make the ascent. 

Now there lived at Jericho a certain man 
named Zacchseus, who had heard much of 
Jesus, and longed to see him. He was a rich 
man, but he did not dare to invite the great 
Teacher to his house, on account of his 
occupation, for he was a publican or tax- 
gatherer, and was looked down upon in con- 
sequence by the rest of the Jews. 

Zacchseus In a Tree. 

He went out into the streets and mingled 
with the crowd who entered the city in 
advance of Jesus, but being little of stature, 
he found himself at a disadvantage, and so 
he ran on before, and climbed up into a syca- 
more tree. He knew that Jesus would have 
to pass that way, and thought that he should 
thus see him as he went by. 

As Jesus passed under the tree, he looked 
up, and called to Zacchseus by name. Zacc- 
hseus, make haste and come down, he said, 
for to-day I must abide at thy house. 

It was a great honor to the despised publi- 
can, and all the people murmured, for they 
called the publicans sinners, and said that 



| Jesus was going to be the guest of a man 
that was a sinner. But Zacchseus cared 
little for what they said. He was filled with 
joy when he heard the words of Jesus, and 
made haste to come down from the tree and 
prepare a feast worthy of the great occasion. 

A Son of Abraham, 

While the feast was going on, many new 
thoughts entered the mind of Zacchseus, and 
as he looked ?.t the Guest who was seated 
beside him, and listened to his words, he was 
filled with a longing desire to prove himself 
worthy of the honor that had been vouch- 
safed to him, and to forsake his former sins, 
and begin a new and better life. 

As a publican he had often been guilty of 
cheating and extortion, but now he would be 
strictly honest in all his dealing, and instead 
of taking from others, he would make 
amends to those whom he had wronged, and 
would give to those in need. 

He was not ashamed to let others know of 
his altered purpose, avid standing up before 
all the assembled guests, he said, Behold, 
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the 
poor, and if I have taken anything from any 
man by false accusation, I restore him fore- 
fold. 

Then Jesus was glad, for he saw that 
Zacchseus had truly repented of his sins, and 
was acting like a worthy descendant of his 
great forefather Abraham. He said, This 
day is salvation come to this house, forso- 
much as he also is a son of Abraham. For 
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save 
that which was lost. Zacchseus was a, happy- 
man that day. 




SUFFER THEM TO COME UNTO ME. 



431 




THE BREAD THAT COMETH DOWN FROM HEAVEN. 



432 



CHAPTER XXXI 



Jesus at Bethany — Anointing in the House of Martha, Mary and Lazarus — Entry 
into Jerusalem — Road Strewn with Palm-Branches — Children in the Temple — 
The Man who had a Vineyard — Disputing with the Pharisees — The Tribute- 
Money — The Fate of Hypocrites — The Poor Widow — Vivid Picture of the 
Second Coming. 




ROCEEDING on his journey, 
Jesus, on the next morning, led 
his followers up the steep and 
rocky path that ascends from 
Jericho to Jerusalem, and ends 
upon the Mount of Olives. 
Almost at the summit lies the little village 
of Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha 
and Lazarus. At this place Jesus halted, 
for he was going to pass the night there 
with his disciples, hut all the rest of the 
people went on at once into Jerusalem. 

The following day was the Sabbath, and 
Jesus remained quietly at Bethany. In the 
evening, his friends made a supper for him, 
and amongst those who sat beside him at 
the table was Lazarus, whom h$ had raised 
from the dead. 

Martha was busily engaged in serving her 
guests, but Mary was unemplo) ed, and her 
thoughts went back to the last time that 
Jesus had been with them at Bev'hany. He 
had come to them then at the time of their 
greatest sorrow, and his presence had turned 
their sorrow into joy. 

Her eyes rested by turns upon the brother 
who had been raised from the dead, and 
upon the Friend who had restored him to 
life, and her heart overflowed with love and 
gratitude. She felt that it would be right 
and fitting to offer him the best of all her 
treasures ; and rising up from her place, she 
28 



fetched an alabaster box of very precious 
ointment, and poured it over his head as he 
sat at meat. 

The Fragrant Ointment. 

The whole house was filled with the 
delicious fragrance of the ointment, and 
thus the attention of all who were present, 
was drawn to the act of Mary. 

Many of the guests were astonished, some 
were displeased, and one of them, Judas 
Iscariot, the disciple who afterwards betrayed 
his Master, even ventured to rebuke her, 
saying, Why was this waste of ointment 
made ? It might have been sold for three 
hundred pence, and given to the poor. 

This he said, not because he cared for the 
poor, but because he cared a great deal for 
money, and could not bear to see a chance 
of making money thrown away. Any gifts 
that were brought to Jesus, or any sums 
that were gained by the disciples, were put 
into a common purse, and this purse was 
kept by Judas. He liked to know that it 
was well filled, and he even went further 
than this, for he was a thief, and out of the 
purse that was intended to be drawn upon 
only for the good of all, he did not hesitate 
to take money when he needed it for his 
own purposes, without telling anyone. 

But Jesus would not allow him to rebuke 
Mary, and he silenced the murmurs of those 

433 




MARY OF BETHANY ANOINTING THE FEET OF JESUS, 



434 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



435 



who were blaming her in their hearts, by 
giving her his blessing and approval. Why 
trouble ye the woman ? He said. She hath 
wrought a good work upon me. For ye 
have the poor always with you, but me ye 
have not always. 

Anointing for Burial. 

Then he again referred to that which he 
had already so often told them, namely, that 
soon he would be taken away from them, 
and put to death. It was the custom among 
the Jews to pour precious ointments and 
spices upon the dead bodies of their friends, 
and Jesus told them that they might look 
upon him as already a dead man, and think 
of Mary as anointing him for his burial. 

It had been an act of noble generosity to 
give him thus of her best without stint or 
calculation, and he said, Verily I say unto 
you, wheresoever the gospel shall be preached 
throughout the world, there shall also this, 
that this woman hath done, be told for a 
memorial of her. 

The day after the supper was the first day 
of the week, answering to our Sunday, and 
this was the day on which at last the triumph 
of Jesus was to take place. He was to enter 
mto Jerusalem accompanied by the multi- 
tude who had followed him from Galilee, 
and now, the disciples thought, the men of 
Jerusalem would surely be convinced, and 
be ready to acknowledge that Jesus was their 
long-expected Messiah. 

Early in the morning, Jesus sent forward 
two of his disciples, and told them to go 
into the next village, w T here, he said, they 
would find an ass and a colt tied together. 
These they were to unloose and bring to 
him, and if any one saw them and asked 
them why they were doing this, they were 
to say, The Lord hath need of them. 

The disciples did as they were commanded. 



and brought back the ass and colt, that 
Jesus might ride in state into the city. It 
had been the custom in the East for kings 
and great men to ride upon asses on grand 
occasions, and the disciples remembered 
how one of the old prophets had written, 
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, 
O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King 
cometh unto thee; he is just, and having 
salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, 
and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. 

The followers of Jesus had come out from 
the city to meet him, and when they saw 
him riding towards them on the colt, they 
shouted aloud for joy, saying, Hosanna to 
the Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh 
in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the 
highest! 

Some of them tore off their upper gar- 
ments and spread them out in front of the 
ass that their King might have a carpet to 
ride over, and others climbed up into the 
trees beside the road, and cut down branches 
of palm-leaves, which they strewed before 
him. 

The Beautiful City. 

When they had reached the top o. Jie 
Mount of Olives, and were come within 
sight of Jerusalem, Jesus paused. There 
before them lay the beautiful city with her 
gorgeous temple, her golden roofs, her 
towers, her palaces glittering in the sunshine 
of the bright spring morning — Jerusalem, 
" the joy of the whole earth." 

But the sight brought no pleasure to the 
eyes of Jesus, for as he gazed upon it, he 
thought of the sins of the people and of 
the terrible punishment that was awaiting 
them. Looking forward into the future, he 
saw a vision of a city besieged by enemies, 
conquered, at last destroyed — her citizens 
dying of hunger, her streets running with 



436 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



blood, her beautiful temple in ruins. He 
beheld the city and wept over it, say- 
ing, If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
least in this thy day, the things that belong 
unto thy peace ; but now they are hid from 
thine eyes ! For the days shall come upon 
thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench 
about thee, and compass thee round, and 



lowed behind him, and as they went they 
sang, Blessed be the King that cometh in 
the name of the Lord ! Peace in heaven, 
and glory in the highest ! 

Thus they entered Jerusalem, and all the 
city was moved, and came out to see what 
was going on, asking, Who is this ? 

The multitude answered, It is Jesus, the 




keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee 
even with the ground and thy children 
within thee, and they shall not leave in thee 
one stone upon another, because thou knew- 
>st not the time of thy visitation. 

After this, Jesus continued his triumph, 
riding down the hill into the city. Some of 
the multitude ran on before, and others fol- 



CHRIST S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. 

Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 



And as 

before, they waved their palms, and shouted, 
Hosanna to the Son of David ! 

But the people of Jerusalem merely 
looked on ; they did not join in the posses- 
sion as the disciples had expected, and some 
of the Pharisees who were among the crowd, 
even came to Jesus and said unto him, 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



437 



Master, rebuke thy disciples. He would not 
do this, but answered them, saying, I tell you 
that if these should hold their peace, the 
stones would immediately cry out. 

On he rode, until he came to the very 
gates of the temple itself, and there a num- 
ber of boys, who were being trained to 
become priests, caught up the words of the 
multitude, and began to sing with them, 
Hosanna to the Son of David. 

Again the chief priests and Pharisees 
tried to interfere, for they were much dis- 
pleased, and they came up to Jesus and 
asked him, Hearest thou what these say ? 

But he answered, Yea. Have ye never 
read, Out of the mouth of babes and suck- 
lings, thou hast perfected praise ? 

Driving Out the Money-Changers. 

Once before, at the time of the Feast of 
the Passover, Jesus had cleared away from 
the temple the changers of money, and the 
sellers of sheep and oxen and doves. Now 
they had ventured to return, and finding that 
this was so, he drove them out again, saying, 
It is written, My house shall be called a 
house of prayer, but ye have made it a den 
of thieves. 

Then he dismissed the people, and the 
triumph of the day was over. It had been 
as Jesus had foretold. The people of Jeru- 
salem had not come forth to meet him — they 
were not willing to acknowledge him as the 
Messiah. The opportunity had been given 
to them, but they had rejected it. Only 
some blind and lame people came to Jesus 
as he was teaching in the temple, and he 
healed them. 

In the evening, he left the city with his 
disciples, and went out to spend the night 
upon the Mount of Olives. 

Jesus went again into the temple on the 
next morning, and began to teach the people. 



But while he was doing so, he was inter- 
rupted by some of the chief priests and 
Pharisees, who came up to him, and said, By 
what authority doest thou these things, and 
who gave thee this authority ? They were 
referring to his triumphant entry into Jeru- 
salem the day before, and to his cleansing of 
the temple from the buyers and sellers. 

A Puzzling Question. 

It was by no means the first time that 
they had asked Jesus a similar question, and 
he always referred them to his works as a 
sign that he had the authority of one who 
was sent by God, but now he was willing to 
remind them of what John the Baptist had 
said about him. He began therefore by 
asking if they were willing to admit the tes- 
timony of John. The baptism of John, he 
said, whence was it, from heaven, or of 
men? 

The question perplexed them, and they 
did not know what to answer. If they 
admitted that John had been sent by God, 
Jesus would ask them why they did not 
believe what John had said about him ; and 
on the other hand, they did not dare to say 
that John had not been sent by God, because 
of the people, for all the people believed that 
John was a true prophet. 

They were obliged to say, We cannot tell, 
and Jesus answered, Neither tell I you by 
what authority I do these things. 

Then he went on to tell them a parable of 
a certain man who had two sons, and who 
told them both to go and work in his vine- 
yard. The first answered roughly, I will not, 
but afterwards he repented of his disobedi- 
ence, and went. The second met his father 
with apparent respect, and answered, I go, 
sir, but he went not. 

Jesus asked the Pharisees which of those 
two sons was he who did the will of his 




438 



THE CHILDREN IN THE TEMPLE. 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



439 



father, and they answered, The first. Then 
he told them that they themselves were 
like the second son, pretending to do 
the will of God, but really disobeying it, and 
that the publicans and sinners whom they 
despised, were nearer to the kingdom of 
heaven than themselves, because they were 
ready to repent of their former sins. 

The Vineyard of the Lord. 

After this he told them another parable. 
This time also it was a story of a man who 
had a vineyard. He made a hedge round it 
to protect it from thieves and wild beasts, 
and he built a tower and a winepress, that 
nothing should be wanting. Then he gave 
it into the charge of some husbandmen whom 
he employed to take care of it, and went 
away into a far country. 

When the time drew near for the fruit to 
be ripe, he sent his servants to the husband- 
men, that they might receive from them the 
fruits of the vineyard. But instead of deliv- 
ering over the fruit, the husbandmen ill- 
treated his servants; they beat one, and 
killed another, and stoned another. 

Again he sent other servants, more than 
the first, and they did unto them likewise. 

Last of all, he sent unto them his son, 
saying, They will reverence my son. But 
when the husbandmen saw the son, they 
said among themselves, This is the heir ; 
come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his 
inheritance. And they caught him, and cast 
him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 

Then Jesus asked the Pharisees what the 
lord of the vineyard would do to those hus- 
bandmen when he came back from his far 
journey ; and they answered, He will miser- 
ably destroy those wicked men, and will let 
out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, 
who shall render him the fruits in their sea- 
sons. 



They did not at first perceive that the 
parable had been spoken against themselves, 
but they might have known it, for a parable 
very like it had long ago been spoken by the 
prophet Isaiah, and this is the explanation 
that he had given of it. The vineyard of 
the Lord of Hosts, he said, is the house of 
Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant 
plant ; and he looked for judgment, but be- 
hold oppression, and for righteousness, but 
behold a cry. 

When Jesus had ended his parable, he said 
to the Pharisees, The kingdom of God shall 
be taken from you, and given to a nation 
bringing forth the fruits thereof; and then 
they saw that by the answer they had given, 
they had condemned themselves. They were 
now more desirous than ever to put him to 
death, but they were afraid as yet to lay 
hands on him because of the people, for all 
the people believed that Jesus was a prophet 
of the Lord. 

Trying to Entrap Him. 

As before, Jesus spent the night on the 
Mount of Olives with his disciples, and re- 
turned the next morning to the temple. 

Meanwhile, the chief priests and Pharisees 
had made a plot with the followers of King 
Herod to ask Jesus a question, by which 
they hoped to lead him into saying some- 
thing that would give offence either to the 
people, or to their Roman conquerors. They 
came, pretending that they wished for his 
advice, and asked him, Is it lawful to give 
tribute unto Caesar, or not ? 

Caesar was the Roman Emperor, who had 
conquered the Jews and compelled them to 
pay him taxes, in return for which he kept 
order in the country, protected them from 
other enemies, and appointed a king to ad- 
minister the laws. The question of the Phari- 
sees was altogether insincere, and was only 



440 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



asked in the hope that it would create a 
difficulty for Jesus, from which he would 
find it hard to escape. 

If he were to say, It is not right to pay 
the tribute, then he would be arrested as a 
preacher of sedition. If, on the other hand, 
he were to say, It is right to do so, then the 
people would no longer believe in him, for 
they still hoped that Jesus was going to lead 
them against the Romans. 

But Jesus knew the wickedness of the 
Pharisees, and he answered, Why tempt ye 
me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute 
money. 

Paying Tribute. 

From out of the pouch of his robe, one of 
them drew a silver penny, worth about thirty- 
six cents of our money. On one side of the 
coin was the beautiful proud face of Tiberius 
Caesar, the Roman Emperor ; on the other 
side was his superscription, Pontifex Maxi- 
mus (Greatest High Priest). 

Whose is this image and superscription ? 
asked Jesus. They said unto him Caesars. 

Render therefore to Caesar, was his answer 
to their question, the things that are Caesar's, 
and to God the things that are God's. 

At these words they marvelled, and left 
him, and went away. As long as they used 
the coin of Caesar, and thus acknowledged 
him as their rightful ruler, it was clearly 
their duty to pay him the tribute he re- 
quired ; and thus their plot to draw Jesus 
into saying whether or not he was their 
rightful lord had entirely broken down. 

Later on in the day, another of the Phari- 
sees asked him a further question : Master, 
he said, which is the great commandment of 
the Law? He asked this more from idle 
curiosity to know what Jesus would say, than 
from any desire to be taught, but the ques- 
tion drew forth a never-to-be-forgotten answer 



from the lips of him who spoke as never man 
spake. 

He said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first 
and great commandment. And the second 
is like unto it : Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself. On these two command- 
ments hang all the Law and the Prophets. 

It was the same answer that he had given 
to the young man who once asked what he 
should do to inherit eternal life, and the 
same lesson that he had taught in the Ser- 
mon on the Mount — namely, that God looks 
not only at the actions of men, but also at 
the very thoughts of their hearts, and that 
he only can hope to keep God's command- 
ments whose heart is filled with love to him, 
and also with love to his fellow-men. 

All the rest of that day, Jesus continued 
in the temple, teaching the people, but he 
was constantly disturbed by some interrup- 
tion from the Pharisees. The Sadducees 
also, who formed another party of the chief 
men, came to him with foolish questions, 
hoping that he would say something that 
would give them an excuse for placing him 
under arrest. 

But Jesus answered all their questions 
with heavenly wisdom, and they could find 
nothing of which to accuse him. 

Strict Rules for Other People. 

Towards the end of the day, which was 
the last he ever spent in Jerusalem, Jesus 
began to warn the people against the Phari- 
sees. They were the teachers of the Law, 
and the men who of all others were consid- 
ered the most religious and most worthy of 
respect, but they were hypocrites. 

They made strict rules for other people, 
which they did not attempt to observe them- 
selves, and all their good works they did 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



441 



only to be seen of men. They went about 
with phylacteries — pieces of parchment on 
which passages of the Law had been written 
— bound round their heads or sewn upon the 
borders of their garments, and they loved to 
occupy the foremost seats in the synagogue 
and the best places at all feasts, and to re- 
ceive marks of deference from others ; but 
they did nothing to deserve respect. 

Jesus told the people that they were to 
listen to the words of the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, for they were the words of the Law of 
God, but that they must avoid copying their 
actions, for, he said, they say, and do not. 

Woe Pronounced Against Hypocrites. 

Then he pronounced upon them seven 
awful curses. For their love of money, for 
their false zeal, for their perversion of the 
truth, for their attention to minor matters 
and neglect of the more important duties, 
for their obedience to the letter rather than 
the spirit of the Law, for their outward show 
of goodness and their inward rottenness, for 
their display of deference for the memories 
of the prophets whom their fathers had killed 
whilst they themselves had in every respect 
the spirit of those who killed the prophets, 
he repeated seven times over these terrible 
words, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites ! 

And then, thinking of the people whom 
they led astray, and of the beautiful city that 
would be made desolate for their sins, he 
cried out with infinite tenderness, O Jerusa- 
lem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, 
and stonest them which are sent unto thee ! 
How often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and ye would 
not ! Behold, your house is left unto you 
desolate. These were almost the last words 
that Jesus ever uttered in the temple. 



When they were ended, he rose to leave 
it for the last time, but on his way out, he 
paused for a few moments in the court 
called the Treasuiy. In this place there 
stood thirteen great chests shaped like trum- 
pets, which were placed there to receive the 
offerings of the people. 

The Widow's Mite. 

Jesus sat down and watched the people as 
they came to offer their gifts, and he saw 
that many that were rich cast in much. 
Presently there came also a poor widow who 
had only two mites, which together make a 
farthing, but this, as she had no more, she 
was not ashamed to offer, and Jesus saw it 
with approving eyes. He called his dis- 
ciples unto him. and said, Verily I say 
unto you, this poor widow hath cast in 
more than they all. For all these have out 
of their abundance cast in unto the offerings 
of God, but she of her want hath cast in all 
the living that she had. 

Then he turned and left the temple, and 
as they went, the disciples called his atten- 
tion to the beautiful stones and marbles, for 
which the collection in the Treasury was 
made. But Jesus was too sad to take any 
pleasure in them, and he only answered, 
The days will come when there shall not be 
left one stone upon another that shall not be 
thrown down. 

They were going as usual towards the 
Mount of Olives, and as soon as they had 
left the city behind them, the disciples asked 
Jesus what he had meant by these words, 
and when these things would come to pass. 

He told them that many troubles were in 
store for them, and for their whole nation. 
They would see Jerusalem compassed about 
with armies, and there would be great dis- 
tress all over the land. There would be 
wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes 



442 



LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 



in divers places, and famines and pestilences. 

They themselves would suffer persecution, 
and would be tormented and killed, but he 
that should endure unto the end, the same 
should be saved. They would not be for- 
saken, and moreover, their Master would 
return again in the clouds of heaven, and 
then he would reward every man according 
to his works. This was the thought that 
was to comfort them in their troubles, and for 
this second coming of the Son of Man they 
were to watch earnestly and pray continually. 

Lastly, he drew a picture of that second 
coming. When the Son of Man, he said, 
shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory. And before him shall 
be gathered all nations, and he shall separate 
them one from the other, as a shepherd 
divideth his sheep from the goats. And he 
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the 
goats on the left. 



Then shall the King say unto them on 
his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you from the foundation of the world. For 
I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat ; I 
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye 
clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; 
I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

Then shall the righteous answer him, 
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, 
and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave the drink ? 
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee 
in, or naked, and clothed thee ? Or when 
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came 
unto thee ? 

And the King shall answer and say unto 
them, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me. He taught that by doing 
good to his followers they were doing good 
to him. 




CHAPTER XXXII. 



A Plot to Put Jesus to Death — Feast of the Passover — Preparations for the Last 
Supper — Jesus Washing the Feet of his Disciples — In the Garden of Gethsemane — 
A Prayer of Agony — The Traitor's Kiss — False Witnesses — Jesus Before the 
High Priest — Denial of Peter — Sorrowful End of Judas — Jesus Before Pilate— 
A Furious Mob — The Purple Robe and Crown of Thorns. 




ESOLVED upon getting rid of 
this new Teacher and Prophet, 
the chief priests and Pharisees 
held a meeting at the house of 
Caiaphas, the High Priest, to 
consult as to when and how 
they should put him to death. At this time, 
Jerusalem was full of strangers who had 
assembled for the great Feast of the Pass- 
over, and many of these were men from 
Galilee, who believed in Jesus. The chief 
priests decided therefore to wait until the 
Passover should be over before they made 
any attempt against him, and in any case 
they agreed that it would be better to find 
some opportunity of seizing him quietly, lest 
there should be a tumult among the people. 
Whilst they were plotting this wicked- 
ness, they received a message that a certain 
man wished to speak with them, and desired 
that he should be admitted. It was Judas 
Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus, he who had been 
chosen to be one of the twelve Apostles, but 
who was now secretly a thief, stealing out of 
the purse common to all, the money he 
needed for his own uses. 

This man had made up his mind to sell 
his Master, and he came to the chief priests 
and said, What will ye give me, and I will 
betray him unto you ? They agreed to give 
him thirty pieces of silver, and in return for 
•this, Judas promised that at some convenient 



moment, when Jesus was alone, with only 
his twelve disciples round him, he would 
steal away from them, and would go to the 
chief priests to tell them where he was, and 
how they could best take him prisoner. 

The Arch-Traitor. 

Never since the world began, has a blacker 
crime been committed; and from the day 
on which the Apostle betrayed his Master, 
the name of " the traitor Judas " has been 
handed down with horror and loathing 
through all the centuries. Good had it 
been for that man if he had never been 
born! 

For the next two days — Wednesday and 
Thursday in Passion Week, as we now call 
them — Jesus remained quietly at Bethany, 
without going to teach in the temple accord- 
ing to his custom. 

The great Feast of the Passover was at 
hand, which was kept in remembrance of the 
time when the children of Israel hcxd been 
delivered out of the land of Egypt. 

Long ago, the Israelites had been bond- 
slaves in Egypt. They were obliged to 
serve the king, who oppressed them, and 
treated them very cruelly. He required 
them to make bricks for him, and punished 
them if they did not work fast enough ; and 
he made a law that every little boy that was 
born was to be killed immediately. 

443 



444 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



Then the children of Israel were in great 
distress, and they cried unto the Lord to de- 
liver them. And the Lord sent Moses and 
Aaron, who went to the king, and desired 
him to let the people go, that they might 
lead them away to the land of Canaan. 

The Plagues of Egypt. 

But the king, whose name was Pharaoh, 
would not let the people go, so Moses and 
Aaron again cried unto the Lord, and the 
Lord punished Pharaoh by sending great 
plagues upon his land. The river was 
turned into blood, the country was overrun 
with frogs and flies and locusts, the cattle 
died of disease, great storms of hail and 
thunder and lightning swept over the land, 
causing great destruction, and for three 
whole days the earth was covered with d^k- 
ness. 

Still the king would not allow the people 
to go, and the Lord told Moses that he 
would visit him with a yet more terrible 
plague, which would compel him to let them 
depart. 

The Lord said, moreover, that Moses was 
to speak to the children of Israel, and tell 
them that the head of every family was to 
take a lamb a year old, and kill it on the 
fourteenth day of the month. Then they 
were to take the blood and smear it over the 
doorposts of their houses ; and the lamb it- 
self they were to roast, and eat in the even- 
ing. 

The whole family was to eat it together, 
standing, with their shoes on their feet, their 
staffs in their hands, and their outdoor gar- 
ments upon them. For I, said the Lord, 
will pass through the land of Egypt that 
night, and will smite all the firstborn in the 
land of Egypt, both man and beast. And 
the blood shall be to you for a token upon 
the houses where ye are, and when I see the 



blood I will pass over you, and the plague 
shall not be upon you to destroy you when 
I smite the land of Egypt. And this day 
shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye 
shall keep it a feast to the Lord forever. 

One Dead in Every House. 

The children of Israel did as Moses com- 
manded, and it came to pass that at mid- 
night, the Lord smote all the first-born in 
the land of Egypt, from the first-born of 
Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the 
first-born of the captive that was in the 
dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle. 
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and 
all his servants and all the Egyptians, and 
there was a great cry in Egypt, for there 
was not a house where there was not one 
dead. 

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron 
in the night, and said, Rise up and get you 
gone, and the Egyptians were urgent that 
they should leave in haste, for they said, We 
be all dead men. 

Thus the children of Israel were delivered 
from the land of Egypt, and ever afterwards 
they met together once a year, in remem- 
brance of the time when the Lord had 
smitten the Egyptians, but had passed over 
the houses on which the blood of the lamb 
was sprinkled. As at that first Passover, 
each family took a lamb and killed it, and. 
ate it all together. 

Little did the people think that this present 
Passover would be remembered as long as 
the world should last by the offering of a faf 
nobler victim, even the Lamb of God, that 
taketh away the sin of the world. 

It was some time during the second of the 
two days spent by Jesus at Bethany, that 
one of his disciples asked him, Master, 
where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to; 
eat at the Passover ? 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



445 



He told them that he would eat it in Jeru- 
salem, and that Peter and John were to go 
on before and make all things ready. Go 
into the city, he said, and there shall meet 
you a man bearing a pitcher of water ; follow 
him. And where he shall go in, say ye to 
the goodman of the house, The Master 



all the other things that would be needed. 

In the evening, when it was dark, Jesus 
left Bethany and came to the house with his 
disciples ; and there in an upper chamber, 
they ate together the solemn meal. 

It was the custom among the Jews to take 
off their shoes on entering a room, and to 




JESUS WASHING THE 

saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I 
shall eat the Passover with my disciples ? 
And he will show you a large upper room, 
furnished and prepared. There make ready 
for us. 

The two disciples did as they were com- 
manded, and when they had reached the 
house, they procured a lamb, and prepared 



FEET OF HIS DISCIPLES. 

wash their feet and hands before eating, but 
on this occasion the washing had been left 
undone, for the disciples had been occupied 
in disputing as to which of them was the 
greatest and had a right to the most honora- 
ble place, and none of them had cared to 
render this service to the rest. 

Jesus therefore determined to teach them 



446 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



by his action that which was the lesson of 
his whole life, namely, that the greatest of 
all, is he who most truly serves his fellow- 
men. 

He himself, though he knew that the 
Father had given all things into his hands, 
and that he had come from God and was 
going to God, rose from supper, and laid 
aside his upper garment, and took a towel 
and wound it round him. After that, he 
poured water into a basin, and, going to the 
disciples, one by one, he began to wash their 
feet, and to wipe them with the towel that 
was round him. 

An Example of Humility. 

This was usually the work of the hum- 
blest slave, and when Jesus came to Simon 
Peter, the disciple could not bear that his 
Master should render him this service. He 
said, Lord, dost thou wash my feet ? Thou 
shalt never wash my feet. But Jesus told 
him that it was his will to do so, and then 
Peter yielded. 

When the feet of all had been washed, 
Jesus put on his garment and sat down 
again, and then he explained to them the 
meaning of what he had done. 

He said to them, Know ye what I have 
done unto you ? Ye call me Master and 
Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. If I 
then, your Lord and Master, have washed 
your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's 
feet. For I have given an example, that ye 
should do as I have done unto you. A new 
commandment I give unto you, that ye love 
one another; as I have loved you, that ye 
also love one another. By this shall all men 
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
one to another. 

After this, the supper continued. All the 
disciples were present, even Judas among the 
rest, but Jesus knew the treachery that was 



in his heart, and as they were eating, he 
became very sorrowful, and said, Verily P 
verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall 
betray me. 

At these words, the disciples were filled 
with grief and astonishment, and they looked 
from one to another, wondering which of 
them it could be of whom he was speaking. 
They hardly knew what he meant, but one 
of them cried out with terror, Master, is it I ? 
And then, one after another, they all said, Is 
it I? Even Judas followed the rest, and 
asked, Is it I? 

Now it happened that he who was lying 
upon the couch next to Jesus, was John, the 
disciple whom Jesus loved above all the rest, 
and near to him was Simon Peter. The 
head of John was resting upon the breast of 
his Master ; and Peter, who felt that it was 
i intolerable not to know which of them it was 
that should do this dreadful deed, beckoned 
to him to ask Jesus. He did "so, and Jesus 
answered, It is he to whom I shall give a sop, 
when I have dipped it. 

The Broken Bread. 

Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it in 
the dish that was in the middle of the table, 
and gave it to Judas Iscariot. At the same 
time, knowing that the devil had taken 
possession of his heart, and that he had 
hardened himself and would not repent of 
his evil purpose, he said to him in a low 
voice, That thou doest, do quickly. 

Judas then rose up and went out; and 
after he had left them, Jesus took bread, and 
blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the 
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my 
body. And he took the cup, and gave 
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink 
ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new 
testament which is shed for many, for the 
remission of sins. 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



447 



Then he told them that he was going to 
leave them, but that they were not to be 
troubled. They believed in God, he said, 
and must believe also in him. He was going 
to prepare a place for them in heaven, and 



the body, yet he would be very near them in 
spirit, and would comfort them, and give 
them peace in their hearts. 

If ye keep my commandments, he said, ye 
shall abide in my love, even as I have kept 




CHRIST IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 

meanwhile he would send unto them a holy 



Spirit of truth, who would be their comforter 
and teacher. He said that it was better for 
them that he should go away, in order that 
the Spirit might come to them ; and he told 
them that though he would not be present in 



my Father's commandments, and abide in his 
love. This is my commandment, that ye 
love one another as I have loved you. 
Greater love hath no man than this, that a 
man lay down his life for his friend. 

Lastly, he poured out his soul in prayer 



448 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



to God, asking that the Father would glorify 
him, and would enable the disciples to under- 
stand those things that he had taught them, 
and to keep themselves pure and free from 
sin, though they lived in a sinful world. 
Holy Father, he prayed, keep through thine 
own name those whom thou hast given me, 
that they may be one, as we are. I pray 
not that thou shouldest take them out of the 
world, but that thou shouldest keep them 
from the evil. Sanctify them through thy 
truth ; thy word is truth. 

Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
them also which shall believe on me through 
their word, that they all may be one, as thou, 
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also 
may be one in us, that the world may believe 
that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them 
as thou hast loved me. 

Alter this they all rose up, and sang to- 
gether some of the psalms appointed to be 
used at the Passover ; and then they left the 
house, and went away to pass the night, as 
usual, on the Mount of Olives. 

The Midnight Agony. 

On the Mount of Olives there was a gar- 
den, called the Garden of Gethsemane, to 
which Jesus often went with his disciples. 
It was to this place that he now led them, 
and as they were going, he began to tell 
them how, that night, the Shepherd would 
be smitten, and the sheep of his flock would 
be scattered abroad. He was going to be 
betrayed, he said, into the hands of wicked 
men, and his disciples would all forsake him 
and flee away. 

Peter could not believe that he should for- 
sake his Master in the hour of danger, and 
he said, Though all should be offended be- 
cause of thee, yet will not I. I am ready 
to follow thee both to prison and to death. 

But Jesus answered, I tell thee, Peter, 



that the cock shall not crow, until thou hast 
thrice denied that thou knowest me. 

When they had come to the garden, Jesus 
left the rest of the disciples at a certain place, 
saying to them, Sit ye here while I go and 
pray yonder, and went on, with only the 
three that he loved the most, Peter and 
James and John. They were the three who 
had gone with him to pray on Mount Her- 
mon, when he was transfigured before them ; 
and now that his soul was troubled, he 
again desired that they only should be with 
him. 

He said to them, My soul is exceeding 
sorrowful, even unto death ; tarry ye here 
and watch with me. Then he went a little 
farther, and fell on his face and prayed, say- 
ing, O my Father, if it be possible, let this 
cup pass from me ; nevertheless, not as I 
will, but as thou wilt. 

The Bitter Cup. 

After a time he went back to his disciples, 
but he did not find them watching. It was 
now far on into the night ; they were weary 
and heavy, and sleep had overtaken them. 
He said to Peter, Could ye not watch with 
me one hour? Watch and pray that ye 
enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed 
is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

Then he went away a second time, and 
prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup 
may not pass away from me except I drink 
it, thy will be done. 

It was the most awful suffering the world 
has ever seen, and to the disciples who were 
at a little distance, it seemed as if great drops 
of b T ood fell from him to the ground as he 
prayed. All the sins of men were pressing 
upon his soul, the wickedness of his enemies, 
the treachery of one who had been his friend, 
the want of understanding of those whom he 
loved the most, this and much more that we 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



449 



can but dimly understand. But as he prayed, 
there came an angel from heaven to strengthen 
him, and in the strength of that heavenly con- 
solation he again rose, and returned to the 
disciples. 

They had watched for some time, but now 
they had again fallen asleep, and he went 



It was an armed band that now approached 
the garden, some of the men being servants 
of the High Priest, and others, Roman sol- 
diers who were acting under his orders. At 
their head was Judas, who went before to 
show them the way. He had given a sign 
to the soldiers, saying, Whomsoever I shall 




JUDAS BETRAYING JESUS WITH A KISS. 



back, without disturbing them, and prayed 
again as before. When he came the third 
time, he saw in the distance the gleam of 
lanterns and heard the clash of swords, and 
knew that Judas had betrayed his resting- 
place, and that the soldiers of the chief priests 
were come to take him. 
29 



kiss, that same is he ; take him, and lead him 
away safely. When they reached the place, 
he hurried forward, and going up to Jesus, 
he said, Hail Master, and kissed him. 

But Jesus said, Judas, betrayest thou the 
Son of Man with a kiss ? Then he turned 
toward the soldiers, and asked them, Whom 



450 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. He 
answered, I am he ; and as he spoke these 
words, they staggered backwards and fell to 
the ground, overawed by the majesty of his 
presence. 

When they had recovered themselves, he 
again asked them, Whom seek ye ? and 
when they answered as before, Jesus of 
Nazareth, he said, I have told you that I am 
he ; if therefore ye seek me, let these go 
their way. Even at that terrible moment he 
did not forget to think of his disciples, and 
make sure that they were not also taken 
prisoners. 

Meanwhile the disciples, who were now 
fully awake, had made some little effort to 
defend their Master, and Peter had drawn a 
sword with which he was armed, and had 
smitten one of the servants of the High 
Priest, whose name was Malchus, and cut 
off his right ear. But Jesus touched the 
man's ear and healed it, and he said to Peter, 
Put up thy sword into its sheath. The cup 
which my Father hath given me, shall I not 
drink it ? 

The Disciples Fled. 

Turning again to the soldiers, he said to 
them, Are ye come out as against a thief, 
with swords and with staves to take me ? I 
was daily with you, teaching in the temple, 
and ye laid no hands upon me. But this is 
your hour, and the power of darkness. 

Then all the disciples forsook him and 
fled, and the soldiers bound Jesus, and led 
him away to the palace of Annas, who was 
the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the High 
Priest, and one of the chief men among the 
Jews. 

Annas asked Jesus various questions 
about his disciples and his doctrine, but he 
refused to answer. He said, I spoke openly 
to the world, I ever taught in the synagogue 



and in the temple, whither the Jews always 
resort, and in secret have I said nothing. 

Annas had no legal power to try the; 
prisoner, and therefore he sent on Jesus, still 
bound to his son-in-law, Caiaphas, the High 
Priest, at whose house, although it was the 
middle of the night, the chief priests and the 
elders and the Scribes were even now sitting: 
in council. 

Witnesses Do Not Agree. 

The chief priests desired that Jesus should 
be brought before them, in order that they 
might try the prisoner whom they had 
ordered to be arrested. 

But though they had made up their minds 
that he was to be condemned to death, they 
could find no accusation to bring against 
him. They sought for some one who 
would bear witness against him — true or 
false, they cared not — and many false wit- 
nesses came forward; but according to the 
Jewish law, it was necessary that two 
witnesses should agree in their statements 
before any man could be condemned, and 
none of these agreed together. 

At last there came two witnesses, who 
said, We heard him say, I will destroy this 
temple that is made with hands, and in three 
days I will build another, made without 
hands. But even so their statements did not 
agree, for one of them testified that Jesus 
had said, I am able to destroy this temple of 
God, and the other testified that he had said, 
I will destroy it. " 

All this time, Jesus answered nothing. 
He knew that it was of no use to tell them 
what he had really said, or what he had 
meant by saying it, and when the High 
Priest arose and asked him, Answerest thou 
nothing? What is it which these witness 
against thee? He still remained perfectly- 
silent. 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



451 



This was displeasing to the High Priest, 
who had hoped that, whatever Jesus might 
say, he should be able in some way to turn 
his words against him, and he was deter- 
mined to break his silence. Standing up in 
the midst of the assembly, he said to him, I 
adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell 
us whether thou art the Messiah, the Son of 
God? 

This solemn question required an answer, 
and Jesus answered, I am. And ye shall 
see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand 
of power, and coming in the clouds of 
heaven. 

Accused of Blasphemy. 

At these words, the High Priest rent his 
clothes as a sign that something terrible had 
occurred, and cried out, He has spoken 
blasphemy. Then he said to the rest, 
What further need have we of witnesses ? 
Ye have heard the blasphemy ; what think 
ye? They all answered, He is guilty of 
death. 

The great Council of the chief priests and 
elders had now condemned Jesus to death, 
but this was not enough, for as their country 
was under the power of the Romans, the sen- 
tence had to be confirmed by the Roman 
Governor, Pontius Pilate. 

It was still night, and they could not 
disturb Pilate until the next morning, so they 
departed for the temple, and meanwhile gave 
over their prisoner into the hands of the band 
of servants and soldiers who had arrested 
him. 

Then did these servants and soldiers spit 
in his face, and buffet him, and did smite him 
with their hands. The very men who, when 
they first came to take Jesus prisoner, were 
so overawed that they went backwards and 
fell to the ground, now looked upon him 
merely as a criminal condemned to death, 



and amused themselves by smiting him and 
mocking him. 

But a harder blow than any that could be 
smitten by Jewish servant or Roman soldier 
was to be dealt to Jesus from the hand of a 
friend that night. 

When he was first taken prisoner, all the 
disciples had forsaken him and fled; but 
before long, two of them, Peter and John, 
had in some measure recovered from their 
terror, and had followed to the palace of the 
High Priest, to see what would happen to 
him. 

John was known to the servants of the 
High Priest, and he was able to gain 
admission for Peter, who went and stood 
among the servants in the courtyard. The 
night was chilly, and they had lit a fire of 
coals, and stood warming themselves, when 
a certain maid looked steadfastly at Peter, 
and said, Thou also wast with Jesus of 
Nazareth. 

The Sad Denial. 

Peter was startled. He was among 
strangers in a strange place ; his Master had 
been taken prisoner and condemned to death 
almost in a moment ; he did not know what 
might happen to him if he were confess that 
he was one of his followers. He was afraid 
and his fear made him a liar and a coward. 
He answered, I know not the man. 

Then he changed his place, for fear of fur- 
ther questions, but after a time another maid 
observed him, and said, This man was also 
with Jesus of Nazareth. But Peter denied 
again, saying, I know him not. 

A third time the attention of the servants 
was called to him, for one of them said, 
Surely thou also art one of them, for thou 
art a Galilean ; thy speech betrayeth thee, 
and a third time Peter denied. He even 
began to curse and to swear, saying, I know 



452 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



not this man of whom ye speak. At 
this moment the cock crew, and at the 
same instant some movement in the crowd 
brought him within sight of Jesus, bound 
and mocked and buffeted by the rough sol- 
diers. The Lord turned and looked on 
Peter, and across the memory of the disciple 
there flashed the recollection of how Jesus 
had said to him, Before the cock crow thou 



man with bloodshot eyes and dishevelled 
hair, and a look of despair upon his face. 
It was Judas, the traitor. I have sinned, he 
cried, with a hoarse, broken voice, in that 7 
have betrayed the innocent blood. 

He had heard how they had condemned 
Jesus to death without an hour's delay, and 
now the horror of what he had done, had 
fallen upon him when it was too late. He 




PETER DENYING 

shalt deny me thrice. In a moment he real- 
ized what it was that he had done, and he 
went out and wept bitterly. 

In the meantime, another terrible scene 
was taking place not far off. The chief 
priests and Pharisees had left the palace 
after the trial of Jesus, but were still to- 
gether in the temple, talking over the matter, 
while they waited for the morning. 

Presently there appeared before them a 



CHRIST. 

had come to implore the Pharisees to change 
their purpose, but it was of no avail. What 
is that to us ? they asked with looks of scorn. 
See thou to that. 

The last time that Judas had stood before 
them, he had come to bargain for the sum of 
money for which he should betray his 
Master. Now the money which he had 
coveted so greedily had become hateful to 
him, and he could not bear the sight of it 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



453 



He threw down the thirty pieces of silver in 
front of the chief priests, and then he went 
away and hanged himself. 

When the morning was come, the chief 
priests and elders returned to the house of 
Caiaphas, and having again summoned Jesus 
before them, and confirmed the sentence by 
which they had pronounced him to be guilty 
of death, they led him away, bound, to the 
palace of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. 

Jesus Before Pilate. 

Jesus was taken into a gorgeous room, 
called the Hall of Judgment ; but the chief 
priests remained outside, for it was the time 
of the Passover, and they considered that 
they would be denied and unfit to eat it, if 
they entered the palace of the heathen. 

Pilate, therefore, went out to them in the 
courtyard in front of the house, and asked, 
What accusation bring ye against this man ? 

They had no true accusation to bring, and 
they knew that Pilate would not condemn 
him to death upon the accusation of blas- 
phemy, for which they had themselves de- 
clared him to be guilty of death, so they 
cried out, We have found him perverting our 
nation, and forbidding to give tribute to 
Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a 
king. 

Pilate went back into the Judgment Hall, 
and said to Jesus, Art thou the King of the 
Jews ? 

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of 
this world. But Pilate repeated his question, 
and then he said, I am a king. To this end 
was I born, and for this cause came I into 
the world, that I should bear witness to the 
truth. 

Then Pilate asked him, What is truth ? 
But without waiting for an answer, he went 
out again to the chief priests, and said, I 
find no fault in him. 



At these words, they were more furious 
than ever, and cried out, He stirreth up the 
people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and 
beginning from Galilee, even unto this place. 

Pilate was much perplexed. \t appeared 
to him that Jesus was an innocent man, and 
he did not wish to shed his blood ; at the 
same time, the Jews were fierce and violent, 
and he was anxious not to displease them. 
When he heard them speak of Galilee, and 
found that Jesus came from that province, he 
thought it would be a good way out of the 
difficulty to send him to King Herod, the 
ruler of Galilee, who happened to be in 
Jerusalem at that time. 

Pilate's Wife Has a Dream. 

Jesus was therefore led to the palace of 
Herod, who had long wished to see him, 
because he had heard of his miracles, and 
hoped that he might do some wonderful 
work in his presence. But Jesus would not 
work miracles to satisfy the curiosity of a 
wicked man, neither wouM he answer the 
questions of Herod, who therefore sent him 
back to Pilate, when he had mocked him 
and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe. 

Again the prisoner was led through the 
streets to the house of Pilate, and the 
Governor came out into the courtyard, and 
sat upon the judgement seat. He had 
received a message from his wife that she 
had dreamt a dream about the just man who 
was standing bound before him, and begged 
that he would have no hand in shedding his 
blood. 

He was therefore more anxious than ever 
to release Jesus, but he had not the courage 
openly to deny the Jews what they desired, 
and again therefore he thought of a device 
by which he hoped to accomplish his pur- 
pose. 

It was a custom among the Jews, that 



454 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



every year at the Feast of the Passover, one 
prisoner should be set free, and the people 
had the right of choosing who it should be. 
Pilate reminded them of this custom, and 



not Jesus, but Barabbas, a murderer and a, 
robber. 

With one consent they clamored forth, 
Not this man but Barabbas ! And when 




THEY CRIED, "CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! 



asked if he should release the King of the 
Jews. There was now a great crowd of 
people in the courtyard, but the chief priests 
and elders stirred up their minds to desire 
that another prisoner should be released — 



Pilate asked, What then will ye that I do 
unto him whom ye call the King of the 
Jews ? the horrible cry arose, Crucify him, 
crucify him ! 

As soon as he could obtain silence, Pilate 



JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 



455 



asked, Why, what evil hath he done ? But 
they only cried out the more exceedingly, 
saying, Let him be crucified. 

Pilate was unwilling' to condemn Jesus to 
this terrible death, but it was now more diffi- 
cult than ever to take the straightforward 
course which he ought to have adopted at 
the first, and he again gave way to cowardice, 
and tried half measures. Hoping that if some 
lesser punishment were inflicted upon Jesus, 
the people would be satisfied, he told his sol- 
diers to lead away the prisoner into the kill 
called the Pretorium, and scourge him. 

Arrayed in a Purple Robe. 

This was a cruel punishment, and the sol- 
diers did not hesitate to add unnecessary 
cruelty, and cowardly insults. When the 
scourging was over, they again arrayed 
Jesus in the purple robe that Herod had 
put on him, and they twisted together a 
crown of thorns which they pressed upon his 
forehead, while in his hand they placed a 
reed instead of a sceptre. Then they all 
passed before him, one by one, and made 
a mock salute, calling out, Hail, King of the 
Jews ! And as they did so, they spit upon 
him and smote him with the reed. 

After this, they brought him back into the 
courtyard, faint and bleeding, and still wear- 
ing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. 
Pilate hoped that his enemies would now 
have pity, and would be willing to release 



him after this torture, but the chief priests 
had no pity. As soon as they saw him, they 
cried out again, Crucify him, crucify him! 
And when Pilate still hesitated, they said, If 
thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's 
friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king 
speaketh against Caesar. 

"His Blood Be on Us." 

Once before, the Jews had written a com- 
plaint of Pilate to Tiberius Caesar, the Em- 
peror under whom he held his office, and he 
was afraid that if he refused to carry out 
their wishes, they would again write and 
accuse him of treachery towards the Em- 
peror, and that then he would be disgraced, 
and perhaps made prisoner himself. 

The conflict between good and evil which 
had been going on in his heart was now 
ended. He was conquered by the fear of 
man, and finding that the chief priests ^nd 
the multitude whom they had excited were 
becoming more and more tumultuous, he 
delivered Jesus over into their hands to be 
crucified. 

But even now he tried to shake off the 
responsibility of his action, for he knew that 
he was doing wrong, and he sent for water, 
and washed his hands before all the people, 
saying, I am innocent of the blood of this 
just person. See ye to it. 

And the people answered him, His blood 
be upon us and upon our children. 



CHAPTER XXXIII, 



Story of the Crucifixion — Bearing the Cross — A Prayer for Enemies — The Earth- 
quake and Darkening of the Sun— Veil of the Temple Rent — The Burial — The 
Angel and Women at the Tomb — Surprise of the Disciples — Jesus at Emmaus — 
Again in Galilee — The Great Draught of Fishes — Solemn Charge to Peter- 
Jesus at Bethany — The Ascension — Awe-Struck Disciples Appear in the Temple. 




HEN a man was condemned 
by the Romans to the 
cruel death of crucifixion* 
it was the custom to make 
him carry the cross on 
which he was going to 
suffer, to the place of 
execution. As soon therefore as Pilate had 
given his cowardly consent to the demand of 
the chief priests, the soldiers stripped off 
from Jesus the gorgeous robe with which 
they had covered him in scorn, put his own 
clothes upon him, and laid the cross upon 
his shoulders. 

The place of execution, which was called 
Golgotha, or Calvary, was outside the city 
walls, and Jesus went out towards it, bearing 
his cross, with a great multitude following 
after him. But he was weak and faint after 
the sleepless night, the agony in the garden, 
and all the pain he had already suffered, and 
he could not carry the heavy cross, so the 
soldiers seized upon a man named Simon the 
Cyrenian, whom they chanced to meet, and 
compelled him to carry the cross instead of 
Jesus. 

The crowd consisted chiefly of the priests 
and Pharisees, and the people whom they 
had stirred up to demand the life of Jesus, 
but there followed also many of those who 
had known and loved him. Amongst these 
were a number of women, who wept aloud, 
456 



and filled the air with their cries of sorrow. 
Of his enemies, who were hooting and 
reviling him, Jesus took no notice, but when 
he heard the lamentations of the women, he 
turned towards them, and said, Daughters 
of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for 
yourselves and your children. The multi- 
tude had cried, His blood be upon us and 
on our children, and that innocent blood 
was going to be avenged upon their nation 
in rivers of blood, and in horrors of famine 
and pestilence. 

He Prays For His Enemies. 

They had now come to the place called 
Golgotha, or Calvary, and the soldiers took 
Jesus and nailed his feet and hands to the 
cross. But even at that moment of terrible 
pain, no groan escaped from his lips, only a 
prayer: Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do. 

Then the cross was raised up and set 
between two other crosses, on each of which 
there hung a thief. Over each cross was 
written the crime for which he who was upon 
it had been condemned to suffer, and over 
that of Jesus, were the words, The King of 
the Jews. He who above all men honored 
God, had been condemned by the chief 
priests for blasphemy; he who had made 
himself the least of all and the servant of 
all, was condemned by Pilate for claiming to 




THE ANGEL AND THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHRE 




CHRIST SINKING UNDER HIS "ROSS ON THE WAY TO GOLGOTHA. 



458 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



be a king. A great crowd remained standing 
round thefoot of the cross, and the chief priests, 
whose hearts were as hard as iron, continued 
to mock and revile Jesus. He saved others, 
they said ; himself he cannot save. If he 
be the Christ, the King of Israel, let him 



his beloved disciple John, and his mother, 
Mary, who was there with some of the other 
women that had followed him from Galilee. 

As always throughout his life, he thought 
not of himself but of others ; and now that 
he was leaving those whom he had loved the 




SIMON COMPELLED TO HELP JESUS BEAR THE CROSS. 



now come down from the cross, and we will 
believe him. 

Even the two thieves who were hanging 
by his side, joined in these scoffings, but 
Jesus heeded them not. His eye passed 
over the crowd till it rested upon the faces of home 



most, it was well that they should love one 
another the more tenderly. He said to the 
disciple, Behold thy mother, and to his 
mother he said, Behold thy son. And from 
that hour, that disciple took her to his own 




THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST. 



459 



460 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



Some time had now gone by, and one of 
the thieves, who was touched by the patience 
and the gentleness of Jesus, rebuked his 
companion for railing at him, and said, We 
indeed are justly punished, for we receive 
the due reward of our deeds, but this man 
hath done nothing amiss. Then, turning 
towards Jesus, he said, Lord, remember me 
when thou comest into thy kingdom. And 
Jesus answered him, Verily, I say unto thee, 
to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. 

It was now mid-day, but at the sight of 
Jesus hanging upon the cross, the sun hid 
his face, and there fell upon the land a dark- 
ness which lasted for three hours. The 
scoffing crowd was hushed and filled with 
awe ; and in silence Jesus endured the agony 
of those terrible hours in which he suffered 
for the sins of men, until just at the end of 
the time he uttered an exceeding bitter cry, 
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me? 

"It Is Finished." 

But God had not forsaken him. Almost 
immediately the darkness rolled away from 
the face of the earth, and the cloud was re- 
moved from the soul of Jesus. Father, he 
said, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! 

A few moments afterwards, he said, I 
thirst, and one of the soldiers filled a sponge 
with the sour wine or vinegar that they were 
accustomed to drink, and put it to his lips. 
He just tasted it, and then with a loud cry, 
It is finished, he gave up the ghost. 

Then was the veil of the temple — the gor- 
geous curtain that separated the holy of 
holies from the holy place — rent in twain 
from the top to the bottom, and the earth 
did quake, and the rocks rent, and the 
graves were opened. And the Roman cen- 
turion, and those who were with him, watch- 
ing Jesus, when they saw the earthquake 



and those things that were done, said, Truly 
this was the Son of God. 

And all the people who had came to- 
gether to that sight, beholding the things 
that were done, smote their breasts, and re- 
turned into the city. 

Among the Pharisees, there were two 
men who had not consented to the death of 
Jesus. One of these was Joseph of Arima- 
thea, a good man and a just; the other was 
Nicodemus. They had been unable to pre- 
vent the murder, but they could at least give 
the body an honorable burial ; and Joseph 
went to Pilate, and asked to be allowed to 
take it down from the cross. 

Preparations for Burial. 

Pilate gave him leave, and he hurried back 
with a long piece of fine white linen, which 
he bought to wrap round the body. The 
soldiers had meanwhile pierced it with a 
spear to satisfy themselves that life had left 
it, thus making a hole in the side, from which 
there had flowed out blood and water. 

Joseph took down the body from the 
cross, with the help of the women who loved 
Jesus. They had been standing near it all 
ftie time, and now they were anxious to see 
what would be done. It was the day which 
we call Friday, and at six o'clock that even- 
ing the Jewish Sabbath would begin, on 
which no one was allowed to do any work, 
so that there was but little time for the 
burial. 

In accordance with the Jewish custom of 
anointing the bodies of those whom they 
desired to honor, Nicodemus had brought a 
quantity of sweet-smelling spices and oint- 
ments ; but all that could now be done was 
to wind the fine linen round the body, cover 
it with the spices, and lay it for the present 
in a garden close by, that belonged to 
Joseph. In the garden there was a new 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



461 



tomb which had been hewn out of the rock ; 
here they laid the body, and closed up the 
entrance by rolling a great stone in front 
of it. 

Then the women hurried home, intending 
to prepare more spices and ointments, and to 
return very early on the day after the Sab- 



It seemed to the disciples that everything 
had been taken from them at once. They 
had lost their Master and Teacher, him for 
whose sake they had given up their homes 
and their daily work, him whom they loved 
and honored far above all others. Of all 
that had passed since that terrible evening, 




THE BURIAL 

bath, to finish what had been left undone. 
They worked till sunset, but as soon as the 
Sabbath had begun, they paused and rested 
from their labor, according to the command- 
ment. 

Never has there been so sad a day as that 
Passover Sabbath in Jerusalem and Bethany, 
on the dav after the death of Jesus. 



OF CHRIST. 

less than two days ago, when he was taken 
from them, they could not bear to think. 

Jesus had indeed told them beforehand 
that he would be betrayed into the hands of 
wicked men, and would suffer death upon 
the cross, but they had listened without 
attention, for they had been unable to believe 
that he really meant what his words seemed 



462 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



to imply. Now it had all happened, just as he 
had said ; and besides their friend, they had, 
as it seemed to them, lost their Messiah. 
They had learnt to know that the thoughts 
of Jesus were not as their thoughts, but still 
they had always looked forward to the day 
when he would allow them to proclaim him 
king, and would come forward, as the Re- 
deemer of Israel, to drive out the Romans, 
and rule in righteousness. 

The Tomb Guarded. 

All these hopes were now forever ended, 
and though Jesus had spoken of his rising 
from the dead on the third day, they had 
paid but little heed to his words, and hardly 
dared to take any comfort from them. 

The Pharisees, however, had a very clear 
recollection of what Jesus had said , and 
they went to Pilate and asked for a band of 
soldiers to guard the sepulchre, lest the dis- 
ciples should come by night and steal away 
the body, and tell the people that he was 
risen from the dead. 

Pilate gave them leave to do as they 
pleased about it, and they set a seal upon 
the great stone that closed up the sepul- 
chre, so that nobody could move it without 
breaking the seal. They also placed a guard 
of soldiers round the tomb, to prevent any- 
one from coming near to it. 

The Sabbath was over, and the sun was 
beginning to dawn upon the first day of the 
week. The women, who had risen very 
early, while it was yet dark, were on their 
way to the sepulchre, carrying with them the 
spices and ointments that they had prepared. 
They knew nothing of the guard that had 
been set, but they remembered the great 
stone at the entrance to the tomb, and as 
they went, they said one to another, Who 
shall roll us away the stone from the door 
of the sepulchre ? 



But when they had reached the place, 
they found that the stone had already gone. 
A great earthquake had shaken the garden, 
and an angel of the Lord had descended 
from heaven, and had rolled away the stone 
from the door of the sepulchre, and sat 
upon it. His countenance was like lightning,, 
and his raiment white as snow, and for fear 
of him the guard of soldiers did shake, and 
became as dead men. 

The women also were frightened when 
they saw the angel, but he said unto them,. 
Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus 
who was crucified. He is not here, for he is 
risen, as he said. Come, see the place where 
the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his 
disciples that he is risen from the dead. 

This was indeed a wonderful message, and 
the hearts of the women beat high with fear 
and great joy, as they departed quickly from 
the sepulchre, and ran to take the good news 
to the disciples. 

The Sepulchre is Empty. 

But one of them, Mary Magdalene, had 
been too much overcome with grief at the 
sight of the empty tomb, to pay any atten- 
tion to the words of the angel. She had 
come to seek the body of her Lord, and now 
it was gone ! Sorrowfully she left the place, 
and finding Peter and John, she said to them, 
They have taken away the Lord out of the 
sepulchre, and we know not where they have 
laid him ! 

When they heard this, Peter and John 
were filled with astonishment, and ran both 
together to the sepulchre, but when they 
had reached it, they found that it was even 
as Mary had said. They saw the long piece 
of fine white linen, and the napkin that had 
been wrapped about the head, but the body 
itself was no longer there. Then they 
remembered how Jesus had spoken of rising 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



463 



from the dead on the third day, and believed 
that his words had been fulfilled. 

They went away to seek for some of the 
other disciples, that they might tell them 
of the wonder that had come to pass, but 
Mary remained behind at the sepulchre, 
weeping. Presently she stooped down, and 
looking again into the tomb, she perceived 



she saw a man standing there, who asked her 
the same question, Woman, why weepest 
thou? 

It was Jesus, her risen Lord, but Mary did 
not know him. Her eyes were blinded with 
her tears, and taking it for granted that he 
was a gardener, she cried out, Sir, if thou 
hast borne him hence, tell me where thou 




THE ANGEL AND WOMEN AT THE EMPTY TOMB. 



that there were now two angels in it. One 
of them was sitting at the head, and the 
other at the feet, where the body of Jesus 
had lain. They asked her, Woman, why 
weepest thou ? And she answered, Because 
they have taken away my Lord, and I know 
not where they have laid him. 

She did not wait to hear what they would 
say, but, turning again towards the garden, 



hast laid him, and I will take him away. 
Jesus desired to comfort her, by convinc- 
ing her that he was not dead, but alive, and 
for this one single word was sufficient. He 
called her by her name, Mary ! and in a 
moment, her sorrow vanished, like a cloud 
before the sun. She knew his voice, and 
threw herself on the ground before him in 
an ecstasy of joy. 



464 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



Then Jesus told her that she must not think 
too much of his visible presence, or suppose 
that he would remain with her always ; he 
was going to ascend to his Father in heaven, 
and she was to remain on earth to comfort 
others, as she herself had been comforted. 
Go to my brethren, he told her, and say 
unto them that I ascend to my Father and 
your Father, and to my God and your God. 

The first to see Jesus after he had risen 
from the dead was Mary Magdalene; the 
second person who saw him was Peter, who 
had denied his Master, and had afterwards 
wept so bitterly. Jesus also showed himself 
to the women who had been at the sepul- 
chre ; and on the same day, towards evening, 
he appeared to two of the disciples as they 
were journeying towards Emmaus. 

The Walk to Emmaus. 

The village of Emmaus is about seven and 
a half miles distant from Jerusalem, and as 
they walked towards it, the two disciples 
talked together sorrowfully about the death 
of their Master. Their hearts were not lifted 
up with joy at the thought that he had risen 
again, for although they had been told about 
the empty tomb and the vision of angels, 
they had not heard as yet that anyone had 
actually seen the Lord, and could hardly 
believe that he was alive. 

Presently a stranger joined them. He 
appeared to be going in the same direction, 
and he began to talk to them, and ask why 
they were so sad. Then they told him all 
that was in their hearts, and how they were 
broken down with sorrow for the loss of their 
Master, whom they had believed to be the 
Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel. 

The stranger listened to them for some 
time in silence, and then he began to talk to 
them in a wonderful way. He reminded 
them of all that had been written about the I 



Messiah in the books of Moses and of the 
prophets, and how they had long ago fore> 
told that he would suffer and die for the sins 
of his people, and that then he would be 
exalted to the right hand of God, and clothed 
with glory and honor. 

By this time they had reached the village 
of Emmaus. The two disciples did not 
know who the stranger was, but they felt 
strangely comforted by his presence, and 
longed to continue in his company. They 
pressed him therefore to remain with them, 
and share their evening meal. Abide with 
us, they said, for it is towards evening, and 
the day is far spent. 

Their Eyes Are Opened. 

The stranger yielded to their wishes, and 
agreed to share their meal. Presently, while 
they were eating, he took bread, and blessed 
it, and broke it, and gave to them ; and as 
he did so, their eyes were opened, and they 
knew that the stranger who had comforted 
their hearts, was the Lord himself. At the 
same moment he vanished out of their sight, 
and they rose up in haste and returned to 
Jerusalem, that they might tell the other dis- 
ciples that Jesus was indeed risen from the 
dead. 

When they reached the city, they found 
the eleven Apostles gathered together, and 
many others with them. They also had 
been assured in the meanwhile that their 
Master was alive, and were repeating over 
and over again the joyful news. The Lord 
is risen indeed, they were saying, and hath 
appeared to Simon Peter. 

The disciples were still talking together on 
the evening of the same day, when suddenly 
their voices were hushed, for they perceived 
that Jesus himself was standing in the midst 
of them. 

The doors of the room had been locked. 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



465 



for fear of the Jews, but Jesus had not 
entered by the door. The disciples did not 
know how he had come ; all they knew was 
that he was there, once more, in the midst of 
them. 

Jesus said, Peace be unto you, and then he 
showed them his hands, which had been 
pierced by the nails, and the hole in his side 
which had been made by the spear of the 
soldier. 

Then he breathed upon them, and spoke 
some solemn words — words similar to those 
that he had once before spoken to Peter 
when he had blessed him, and said that he 
gave unto him the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven. Now he said unto them all, Receive 
ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye 
remit, they are remitted unto them, and 
whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. 

It was a great privilege and a great re- 
sponsibility, and though they did not under- 
stand as yet all that it meant, they listened 
in silence with bowed heads. When they 
again raised them, Jesus had disappeared, 
and they were left alone again as before 

What Thomas Saido 

But now they had seen the Lord for them- 
selves, and their joy was still more full. 
All the apostles had seen him but two — 
Judas, the traitor, who before this had 
hanged himself, and Thomas, who had not 
been present with the rest when Jesus came. 

When they again saw Thomas, the other 
•disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. 
But he would not believe them. He thought 
they were mistaken, and he said, Except I 
shall see in his hands the print of the nails, 
and put my finger into the print of the nails, 
and thrust my hand into his side, I will not 
believe. 

So it went on for eight days, and on the 
eighth day, the disciples were again assem- 
30 



bled, and Thomas with them. As before, the 
doors were shut, and as before, Jesus sud- 
denly appeared in the midst of them, and 
said, Peace be unto you. 

Then he looked towards Thomas, for he 
knew that Thomas doubted what he had 
heard from the rest, and he said to him, 
Reach hither thy finger and behold my 
hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust 
it into my side, and be not faithless but be- 
lieving. 

In a moment the doubts of Thomas van- 
ished, and, falling at the feet of Jesus, he 
worshipped him, saying, My Lord and my 
God! 

Jesus answered him, Thomas, because 
thou has seen me thou hast believed; 
blessed are they that have not seen, and 
yet have believed. 

No Shepherd for the Sheep. 

The disciples did not remain long in Jeru- 
salem after these things, but returned to 
Galilee, until they should receive some sign 
from their Master as to their future course. 

They were now as sheep without a shep- 
herd, for though they knew that Jesus was 
alive and had visions of his presence from 
time to time, still he was no longer with 
them constantly as before, leading them day 
by day. 

For the last three years they had left their 
homes, and had followed him about from 
place to place ; now they were uncertain as 
to how they were to spend the rest of their 
lives, and meanwhile they returned to their 
homes, and to the daily duties in which they 
had been engaged when Jesus first called 
them. 

It was on a fair calm evening, that Simon 
Peter went down to the shore from his house 
at Capernaum, and asked some of his friends 
if they would go out with him, fishing. Six 




466 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



467 



others all of them disciples of the Lord 
Jesus, agreed to do so; and soon the boat was 
launched, and the net let down into the sea. 
All that night they remained out upon the 
lake, but although this was usually the best 
time for fishing, on that night they caught 
nothing. 

The Net Full of Fishes. 

When the morning began to dawn, they 
saw a man, who appeared to them a stranger, 
standing upon the shore. He called out to 
them, Children, have ye anything to eat? 
And they answered, No. Then he said, 
Cast the net upon the right side of the ship, 
and ye shall find. 

They did not know who the stranger was, 
but they did as he said, and no sooner was 
the net let down, than it began to sink with 
the weight of the fishes that came crowding 
into it. 

Then John, the disciple whom Jesus 
loved, called to mind the day when once 
before Jesus had come to them after a night 
of fruitless toil, and had called the fish to 
their net. He said to Peter, It is the Lord ; 
and with his usual eagerness, Peter threw 
himself into the water, without waiting for 
the rest, and swam ashore to cast himself at 
the feet of Jesus. 

The other disciples followed in the ship as 
quickly as they could, dragging after them 
the heavenly laden net ; and when they had 
reached the shore, they drew it up on to 
the beach, and sat down to count the fish. 
On the former day, more than two years 
ago, when Jesus had filled their net, it had 
broken by reason of the great strain upon it, 
but now it remained firm, although it was 
full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and 
three. 

On the beach they found a fire of coals 
ready prepared, and fish laid upon it, and 



bread. Jesus said to them, Bring now of the 
fish that ye have caught, and when the food 
was ready, he said, Come and eat. 

It was a solemn meal that they ate to- 
gether that morning in the early twilight 
None of the disciples dared to ask the 
stranger, Who art thou ? knowing that it 
was the Lord, but in silence they watched 
him, as he broke the bread, and distributed 
the fish also among them. 

When the meal was ended, Jesus turned 
towards Simon Peter, and said to him, Simon, 
son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than 
these? 

He meant to remind him of the time 
when, after just such a meal, in the darkness, 
not of the morning but of the evening, Petef 
had said, Though all should be offended be- 
cause of thee, yet will not I, and had been 
warned that before cock-crow, he would 
deny his Master thrice. 

Peter was more humble now. He had 
fallen, and had learnt his weakness, and he 
said nothing about loving more than others. 
But though he had sinned, he knew that he 
had been forgiven, and he answered, Yea, 
Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. 

The Charge to Peter. 

^sus said to him, Feed my lambs. He, 
the Good Shepherd, was going to leave his 
flock on earth, and he desired that Peter 
should carry on his work. 

Again, a second time, he asked the solemn 
question, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 
me ? And again Peter answered, Yea, Lord, 
thou knowest that I love thee. 

Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep. 

Still once more, he asked, for the third 
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? 
And Peter, who was grieved that he should 
think it necessary to ask the question three 
times, answered, Yea, Lord, thou knowest 




468 



THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 



THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



469 



all things, thou knowest that I love thee. 

Jesus said to him, as before, Feed my 
sheep ; and then he went on to tell him that 
if indeed he loved him and was prepared to 
carry on his work, he must give up his own 
will, and obey the will of God in all 
things, even though it should lead him at 
last to a cruel death. This had been the 
rule of the life of Jesus himself, and he 
ended by saying to Peter, Follow me. 

Three years ago, Peter had heard those 
same words on the same seashore, and he 
had risen up, and left all to obey the sum- 
mons. Now again his whole heart answered 
to the call of the Master, and all through 
the rest of his life, he strove to follow in his 
footsteps, until at last he also was called 
upon to suffer the bitter death of the cross. 

Again at Bethany. 

It was now some weeks since the day 
when Jesus had risen from the dead, and the 
disciples had once more left Galilee and 
returned to Jerusalem, for their Master had 
told them that he would meet them there. 

At the time appointed he came, and he 
led them out from the city as far as to 
Bethany, the village on the Mount of Olives 
that he loved so well, the home of his 
friends, Martha and Mary and Lazarus. 

As they went, he told them that the time 
had come when he must be parted from 
them, and they would see him no more, but 
that though he would no longer be with 
them in bodily presence, he would always be 
near them in spirit. He said, too, that he 
did not wish them to return to their homes 
or their fishing-boats, but rather to devote 
the rest of their lives to the work that he 
himself had begun, and to go about teach- 
ing the good news of the kingdom of God, 



healing the sick, and casting out devils. 
He told them also, that he would prepare 
them for this great work by pouring out 
upon them his Spirit of truth and holiness, 
and that after he had left them they were to 
return to Jerusalem, and wait for this Spirit 
to descend into their hearts. When they had 
received it, they were to begin and teach, 
first in Jerusalem, and then in all other coun- 
tries. Go ye and teach all nations, he said, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
teaching them to observe all things, whatso- 
ever I have commanded you. And, lo ! I 
am with you always, even unto the end of 
the world. 

Carried into Heaven. 

When Jesus had ended these sayings, he 
lifted up his hands over his disciples, and 
blessed them. And it came to pass, that 
while he blessed them he was parted from 
them and carried up into heaven, and a 
cloud received him out of their sight. 

The disciples knew that he would never 
again appear to them in bodily form, either 
at the breaking of bread, or by the sea- 
shore, or as they talked by the way ; and 
yet they were filled, not with sorrow, but 
with great joy. 

Their Lord had conquered death, and had 
gone before them into the unseen world, 
with the promise on his lips that he would 
always be with them, and would send his 
Spirit to guide and comfort them. Hence- 
forward they feared neither life nor death ; 
and when they had lifted up their prayers 
and praises to their ascended Lord, they re- 
turned to Jerusalem to wait for the promised 
Spirit, and were continually in the temple, 
praising and blessing God. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



Casting Lots for Another Apostle — Choice of Matthias — Wonders on the Day of 
Pentecost — The Tongues of Fire — Peter's Remarkable Sermon— Thousands of 
Believers — The Lame Man Healed — Two Apostles in Prison — Story of Annanias 
and Sapphira — Prison Doors Thrown Open — Choosing Seven Deacons — Story of 
Stephen — The First Martyr — Simon the Sorcerer — Philip in Africa — A Man in a 
Chariot — A Queen's Treasurer Baptized. 




ERY soon after Christ left his 
disciples they began the 
great work which he ap- 
pointed for them to do. We 
know what they did, for a 
history of it has been writ- 
ten, called the Acts of the 
Apostles. It was Luke who wrote that 
history — the same Luke who wrote the 
history of Jesus called the Gospel of Luke. 
Luke was not one of the twelve apostles, 
but he knew a great deal about Jesus and 
his twelve apostles, and the Holy Spirit 
taught him what to write. 

You know there were eleven apostles who 
saw Jesus caught up to heaven. Two angels 
stood near and comforted them by saying, 
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you 
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as 
ye have seen him go into heaven. 

This sweet promise made them very joy- 
ful. It was on Mount Olivet they were 
standing when Jesus was taken up out of 
their sight. They had only a mile to go to 
Jerusalem. They went there and stayed 
there. 

Why did they stay there? There were 
many in Jerusalem who hated them, and 
who wished to kill them. The priests and 
Pharisees were there who killed Jesus. Why, 
then, did the apostles remain in that city? 
470 



Because Jesus had bid them wait in Jerusalem 
till he should send down the Holy Ghost. 

They used often to meet together in a large 
room up stairs, and they used to pray very 
earnestly for the Holy Ghost. There were 
many more than the eleven apostles who met 
together. Mary, the mother of Jesus, came 
there, and other women who loved Jesus, 
and who once went to his tomb. And there 
were the brethren of Jesus, and many other 
holy men, who met in this room. Altogether 
there were one hundred and twenty people. 

Choosing Another Apostle. 

One day Peter stood up among the believ- 
ers in this room and made a short speech. 
What was it about? It was about choosing 
another apostle in the place of Judas, so as 
to make up the number of the twelve again. 
Peter had read in the Psalms, Let another 
take his office. He knew that verse was 
about Judas. It was the office of Judas to 
be an apostle, and God said that another 
man should be an apostle instead, and so 
take his office. 

You know, said Peter, that a field was 
bought with the money that Judas got for 
selling his Lord; and you know that in this 
field he fell down, and that his body burst in 
the midst, so that the field is called "the 
field of blood." God has said, Let another 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



471 



take his office. Let us now fix on a man to 
be in the place of Judas. Peter knew it 
must be a man who had known Jesus well 
when he was on earth, and could tell people 
about his rising from the grave. 

There were two men in the room who had 
known Jesus a long while. Their names 
were Joseph Justus and Matthias. Peter 
thought either of them fit to be an apostle, 
and he did not know which to choose. So 
Peter and the rest of the apostles prayed to 
God to let them know which he had chosen. 

How did they expect God to answer their 
prayer? Did God speak? Did an angel 
come ? No. The apostles cast lots. 

How Lots Were Cast. 

There were many ways of casting lots. 
Perhaps the apostles cast lots in this way : 
perhaps they wrote the name of Joseph 
Justus on one little piece of wood called a 
tablet, and the name of Matthias on another, 
and then shook these two tablets in the end 
of a robe till one tablet fell out. The tablet 
that fell out had the name of Matthais writ- 
ten on it. It was a great honor to be one of 
the twelve apostles. Yet we never hear 
again of Matthias. 

Ten days had now passed away since 
Jesus had gone up to heaven. How long 
did Jesus spend on earth after he had risen ? 
Forty days. Ten more days make fifty days. 

It was now fifty days since Jesus rose. 
There was a feast of the Jews at that time, 
called the feast of first-fruits, when the Jews 
brought their first sheaves of wheat to pre- 
sent to the Lord. Thousands of Jews came 
up from all countries to keep this feast. One 
name for the feast was Pentecost. 

It was now just fifty days after the Pass- 
over. It was the first day of the week. On 
that day the believers in Jesus met together 
in the large room to pray. 



It was early in the morning — about eight 
o'clock. Suddenly a great sound was heard. 
It was like the sound of a very strong, high 
wind. This great sound filled the place 
where the believers were sitting, and shook 
the whole house. There came also what 
looked like fire — divided into many parts, 
each part appearing to be a tongue of fire ; 
and these came and sat on each of the be- 
lievers — on the women as well as on the 
men. 

Spoke in all Sorts of Languages. 

At the same time they all were able to 
speak many strange languages which they 
had never learned. Jesus had once told his 
apostles to preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture, and they may have wondered how they 
should be able to teach strange nations; 
but now they were made able to speak to 
every one in his own language. 

The great noise which had shaken the 
house had been heard in all Jerusalem, and 
people came running towards the place. 
They could not all get into the house, but 
the people in the house could come out to 
the people in the street. There were Jews 
who lived in other countries, as well as Gen- 
tiles, and they heard the believers speaking 
in the languages they spoke in the countries 
where they were born. They were very 
much astonished, and said, How do these 
men of Galilee speak all these languages ? 
Some thought this was a miracle, and said to 
each other, What is the meaning of it ? But 
others only mocked, and said, These men 
have been drinking wine. 

Then Peter stood up, and all the other 
apostles stood near him. He spoke in a 
very loud voice, that all the multitude might 
hear. 

He began by saying, These men are not 
drunken, as you suppose ; for men do not get 




TONGUES OF FIRE RESTING ON THE DISCIPLES. 



4?2 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



473 



drunk so early in the morning. But, said 
he, God has sent down his Holy Spirit, as 
he promised. Hear my words, cried out 
Peter ; Jesus of Nazareth, who did so many 
miracles among you, as you know, has been 
crucified by your wicked hands. But he has 
been raised from the dead and taken to 
God's right hand, and now he hath shed 
forth this which ye now see and hear. 

Perhaps the multitude could see still the 

Tightness of the Spirit. Many now believed 

hat Jesus w r as the Son of God, and felt very 

mhappy for having crucified him ; and they 

were pricked in their hearts, and came to the 

apostles, saying very sorrowfully, What 

shall we do ? 

Thousands are Baptized. 

Then Peter answered, Repent and be 
baptized every one of you in the name ot 
Jesus, for the forgiveness of your sins, and 
you shall receive the Holy Ghost. Three 
thousand were baptized that day ! 

Then w T as fulfilled what John the Baptist 
once said : I indeed baptize you with water 
unto repentance, but he that cometh after me 
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and 
with fire. 

The three thousand people who believed 
lived very happily. They went often to see 
each other, and they all loved one another, 
and they prayed together. 

Some were very poor and some were very 
rich. Those who were rich sold their fine 
houses and gardens, and with the money they 
helped the poor people. 

The Apostles did a great many miracles. 
Let us hear the account of one of these 
miracles. 

Peter and John went up to the temple one 
afternoon, about three o'clock, when the lamb 
was sacrificed on the altar. As they passed 
through a fine brass gate called Beautiful, 



they saw a poor beggar lying there. He was 
lame. He had been born with weak bones 
in his ankles and feet, so that he could never 
walk. He was now forty years old, and he 
had no hope of ever being cured. Every day 
his friends carried him to this gate, that he 
might beg money of the people passing 
through. In the evening his friends carried 
him home. 

Peter Lifted Him Up. 

When he saw Peter and John coming 
through, he begged them to give him some- 
thing. Peter and John stopped, and said to 
the beggar, Fix your eyes on us. So the 
man looked, in great hopes of a little money. 
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I 
none, but such as I have give I thee : in the 
name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk. 
Then Peter took the beggar by his right 
hand and helped him to get up. But the 
man sprang from the ground with a leap, 
though before he could not stand; his feet 
and ankle-bones had been made strong in a 
single moment. 

The man followed Peter and John into the 
temple, leaping as he went, and praising God. 
There were a great many people in the courts 
of the temple who had come up to pray, and 
they saw the man leaping, and they knew 
him well as the beggar who had sat at the 
gate year after year. 

The man was so fond of Peter and John, 
that he held them fast, lest they should go 
away. People in the streets heard what had 
happened, and came in crowds to see the 
man. They looked at Peter and John, ad- 
miring them, and thinking they were very 
great men to do such a wonder. 

But Peter and John did not want to be 
admired. They wanted everybody to praise 
the Saviour. So Peter stood up to preach 
in the temple courts. He said, Ye men of 




474 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



475 



Israel, why do you look on us as though by 
our own power and goodness we had made 
this man walk ? It is through believing on 
Jesus he was cured. You asked Pontius 
Pilate to have Jesus killed, and to let go the 
murderer Barabbas. But God raised him 
from the dead, and took him up to heaven, 
where he will stay till the happy time that 
God has spoken of. Repent ye, therefore, 
and be converted, that your sins may be 
blotted out. 

Peter and John Put in Prison. 

Peter had just preached his second ser- 
mon written in the Bible. He had preached 
it in the temple. His first sermon was 
preached in the street ; this, in the temple. 
There were more enemies here in the temple 
than there had been in the street, for the 
priests were here who hated Jesus, and could 
not bear to hear that he was still alive, hav- 
ing risen from the grave. A whole troop of 
them came, seized Peter and John, and put 
them in a prison close by. They could not 
judge them that evening, for it was getting 
dark. 

What a dreadful thing to spend a night in 
prison, a close, unpleasant, dark dungeon ! 
This was the first night that the Apostles 
were imprisoned, but it was not the last. 

The judges were called the Sanhedrim. 
There were about seventy of them. Their 
hall of judgment was close to the temple. 
Early in the morning Peter and John were 
taken out of prison and made to stand be- 
fore the judges. These judges sat in a 
half-circle round the wall. Among them 
was Christ's great enemy — Caiaphas, the 
high priest. 

But Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea 
were not there, though they belonged to the 
Sanhedrim. Many of the relatives of Caia- 
phas came to see the judgment. 



But who is that man standing by Peter and 
John, looking so loving and so brave ? He 
is a very poor man, yet joy is in his looks. 
It is the poor cripple who sat by the gate 
yesterday begging. 

The Wonderful Name. 

Looking towards this man, the judges said 
to Peter and John, By what name, or by what 
power, have you done this ? That is to say, 
How have you cured that lame man ? 

Then Peter was filled with the Holy 
Ghost, and answered boldly : By the name 
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye cruci- 
fied, whom God raised from the dead, even 
by him doth this man stand before you quite 
well. 

Then he added these words : There is 
none other name under heaven given among 
men, whereby we must be saved. It is not 
only that this poor cripple is saved from his 
lameness by Jesus, but that precious name 
can save us all from sin and death, and no 
other name can do it. 

The judges were surprised to hear Peter 
speak so boldly for his Master. 

But though the judges saw that a great 
miracle had been done, they were determined 
not to believe in Jesus themselves and to pre- 
vent other people believing. This was the 
sin against the Holy Ghost. When you your- 
self believe, and yet try to prevent others 
believing, that is the sin against the Holy 
Ghost ; as when the Pharisees saw the mira- 
cles of Jesus, and said he did them through 
Satan, to prevent others believing on him. 
This is the sin that cannot be forgiven. The 
priests did just the same now. They forbade 
Peter and John to teach any more. 

The judges would have liked to punish 
Peter and John ; but as the people saw the 
very man who had been cured standing 
before their eyes, the judges were afraid to 



476 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



punish the apostles. All they could do was 
to command them not to teach or to preach 
in the name of Jesus any more. 

But Peter and John boldly answered, Is it 
right in the sight of God to obey you rather 
than God? 

God had told them to speak, and they 
said they would speak. How gladly now 
would the judges have killed them ! But 
they were afraid of making the people 
angry, and so they let them go. 

Peter and John hastened home to their 
own friends and told them all that happened 
to them during the night and in the morn- 
ing. And then they prayed together, and 
thanked God for doing wonders in the name 
of Jesus. 

As soon as they had done praying, the 
house was shaken by the Holy Ghost enter- 
ing in once more and helping them to speak 
boldly about Jesus. 

What a Rich Man Did. 

There were now a great many people who 
believed in Jesus. Three thousand had 
turned to him after Peter's first sermon on 
the morning of Pentecost, and five thousand 
more had turned after Peter's second sermon 
in the temple one evening. Three thousand 
and five thousand made eight thousand. 
They lived very happily, sharing their things 
with one another. The rich sold their lands 
and gave the money to the poor. 

One rich man, named Barnabas, sold his 
land and brought the money to the apostles 
and laid it at their feet, to do what they 
would with it. You will often hear again of 
this good Barnabas. 

But were all the believers good ? No ; 
there were some who did not believe with 
their hearts. They wished to go to heaven, 
but they did not love Jesus : they tried to 
seem good and to get praised. 



There was a rich man, named Ananias, 
who wanted to be praised. He had a wife 
named Sapphira. They thought they 
would like to seem as good as Barnabas, 
but they did not like to part with all their 
money. One said to the other, Let us sell 
our land and give the price to the apostles — - 
but not quite all. Oh, then we shall not 
seem so good as Barnabas. Cannot we pre- 
tend to give it all ? The apostles will never 
know what money we got for the land, and 
we will let them think we have given them 
the whole for the poor. 

So Ananias took part of the money and 
carried it to the apostles and laid it at their 
feet, and hoped they would think he had 
given all. 

Did the apostles know ? You will see by 
what Peter said : Why has Satan filled your 
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep 
back part of the price of the land ? You 
need not have sold the land at all ; and 
when you have sold it, you need not have 
brought us the money. Why have you 
thought in your heart of doing this ? 

A Sudden Death. 

As soon as Ananias heard Peter's words 
he fell down dead. Some young men took 
up his body, wrapped round it linen cloths, 
and took it out and buried it. Every one 
who heard of this sudden death was filled 
with fear. 

But Sapphira did not hear of it, so she 
was not frightened. About three hours after 
her husband's death she came in, perhaps 
expecting to be thanked and praised. Then 
Peter tried her, to see whether she joined in 
the lie. He said, How much did you sell 
the land for ? She said they had sold it for 
the sum that Ananais had brought to the 
apostle c though they had really sold it for 
more. 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



477 



Peter replied, Why did you agree together 
to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? Behold, 
the feet of those who have buried thy hus- 
band shall carry thee out. 

Immediately Sapphira fell down dead, and 
the young men who just returned from 
burying her husband buried her also. The 
people who had been frightened at hearing 
of Ananais' death were still more frightened 
now. 

After the sudden death of Ananias and 
Sapphira, people honored the apostles more 
than ever. They brought numbers of their 
sick friends to be cured. They placed them 
in the streets on their beds, that if Peter 
should pass by, his shadow falling on them 
might heal them. People came from all the 
cities round about Jerusalem, and the sick 
were healed and the devils cast out. What 
did these miracles show ? They showed that 
what the apostles said of Peter's Master was 
all true, and that he was really the Son of 
God. 

The Prison Doors Unlocked. 

The high priest and his friends could not 
bear to hear the apostles praised, and they 
sent men to seize them and take them to 
prison. This prison was the place where 
thieves and murderers were shut up. What 
a place for holy men to spend the night ! 

We do not know how many of the apostles 
were shut up this time. But they did not 
spend the whole night there, for an angel 
came in the darkness, and by his great 
strength unlocked the prison-doors, and yet 
so quietly that the soldiers, watching all 
around, never heard him come. The sol- 
diers did not even see the apostles go out ; 
therefore it seems certain that God had made 
them all sleep soundly that night, though 
they ought to have been awake. 

The angel, after leading the apostles out, 



said, in parting, Go speak in the temple all 
the words of this life. 

So, as soon as it was light, they went to 
the temple, and began to preach as usual. 
Perhaps they may have had time to go home 
first to refresh their weary bodies and to see 
their weeping friends. 

But the high priest knew nothing about 
what had happend that night, neither did 
the other judges. 

Could Not Find the Prisoners. 

Early in the morning they all met together 
in the great council called the Sanhedrim. A 
great many judges were in the hall that day. 
They were very anxious to see the apostles, 
and they sent men to the prison to fetch 
them. But the men came back, saying, We 
cannot find the prisoners. We found the 
prison all locked up, and the keepers stand- 
ing before the gates, but when we opened the 
doors we could not find any one. 

The judges were very much astonished to 
hear this, and they could not think what had 
become of the apostles, till a man came in 
and said, Behold, the men whom you put in 
prison are standing in the temple, teaching 
the people. Here was another surprise. 
The priests had never thought that the apos- 
tles would go on teaching after having been 
put in prison. Of course, they felt very 
angry; but the soldiers who fetched them 
were obliged to bring the apostles gently, or 
the people might have stoned the soldiers. 

When they were brought, and standing 
before their judges, the high priest asked 
them, Did not we command you not to teach 
in this name? And behold, you have taught 
all the people in Jerusalem; and you want to 
make us guilty of killing this man ! 

He did not like to mention the name of 
Jesus, so he called him " this man." 

Peter and the other apostles answered, We 



478 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



ought to obey God rather than men. God 
hath raised up Jesus, whom you killed and 
hanged upon a tree. The judges grew more 
angry than ever, and wanted to kill the apos- 
tles. But there was a wise man among them, 
named Gamaliel, who sent the apostles out 
for a little while ; then he advised the other 
judges not to punish the apostles, lest they 
should really be God's people. So the rest 
agreed to let them go, after they had beaten 
them first. But the apostles did not mind 
the beating, and went away rejoicing that 
they were counted worthy to suffer shame 
for his name. 

There were now thousands and thousands 
of believers in Jesus. Among them were 
many poor widows. The apostles had a 
great deal of money that rich people had 
given them for the poor. They spent some 
of this money in buying food for the poor 
widows, and they gave them a portion every 
day. 

Seven Men Chosen. 

This was a great deal of trouble, and took 
up a great deal of time. Yet the apostles 
could not satisfy all the widows. Some of 
these widows belonged to Jerusalem, and 
spoke Hebrew; others came from distant 
lands, and these widows spoke Greek. It 
was these Greek-speaking widows who grew 
discontented. Some of their friends took 
their part, and said they had not their right 
share of food daily. 

When the apostles heard what was said, 
they called the brethren together to propose 
a plan to them. 

They said, We cannot look after giving 
food to all these widows, because we must 
continually pray and preach the Gospel. So 
you had better choose seven good men to 
give out the food. 

The multitude of believers liked the plan, 



and chose seven men who were known to be 
very good. The chief of the seven was 
named Stephen. He was indeed a holy 
and a wise man, and you will hear much 
about him. There was another named 
Philip. You will hear something more of 
him, but of the rest we are not told any- 
thing more. 

All these seven men were to be called 
deacons, or servants, for they were to help 
the apostles to serve. There was an apostle 
named Philip, and now there was a deacon 
Philip also. The apostles prayed over these 
seven deacons, and laid their hands on them 
to give them the power of doing miracles. 

Stephen Before the Judges. 

Soon afterwards a great many of the 
priests believed on Jesus. To persuade the 
priests to believe was a wonder indeed, 
such as Christ had promised his apostles 
they should do through faith in his name, 
after he had gone up on high. 

Stephen was the most remarkable of all 
the seven deacons. He was full of faith, 
and did great wonders among the people. 

But the enemies of Jesus hated him the 
more for being so wonderful. Learned Jews 
went to him and disputed with him, but they 
found that Stephen was wiser than they 
were. 

So they determined to bring him before 
the great council, called the Sanhedrim, and 
to bribe men to tell lies of him. And they 
went about among the people, and tried to 
set the people against him by saying false 
things of him. 

One day they came suddenly upon him 
and caught him, and brought him to the 
great hall of the Sanhedrim, close to the 
temple, and set him before the judges. 

False witnesses came in and said that 
Stephen had declared that Jesus of Nazareth 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



479 



would destroy the temple. Stephen had 
never said this, for it would be the Romans 
who would destroy the temple. 

After Stephen had been so falsely accused, 
the judges, who sat round, looked at him, 
and were surprised to see his face like the 
face of an angel, so bright, so glorious, so 
holy. But this sight did not turn the hearts 
of the wicked judges. They went on judg- 
ing him. 

The high priest was the chief among 
them. (It was not Caiaphas now who was 
high priest. He had been put out of his 
place.) 

This high priest, after hearing the wicked 
men accuse him, said to Stephen, Are these 
things so ? 

Then Stephen began to defend himself 
against what the false witnesses had said of 
him. He made a very long speech ; at last 
he told his judges that all of them had been 
murderers of the Son of God. 

An Angry Mob. 

This made the judges very angry. 
Stephen's words cut them to the heart, but 
did not make them repent. They gnashed 
upon him with their teeth. They were like 
devils ; he was like an angel. 

He lifted up his eyes towards heaven, and 
saw there the glory of God and Jesus stand- 
ing on his right hand. 

Then he cried out, Behold, I see the 
heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the 
right hand of God. 

Then they cried out with a loud voice, 
and stopped their ears, that they might not 
hear Stephen's blessed words, and they ran 
upon him all together, as the men of 
Nazareth had once hunted Jesus. They ran 
beside the temple courts, along the street 
that led to a gate of the city, near the brook 
Kidron ; and when they had got Stephen 



out, they took up great stones and threw 
them at him. 

In order to hurl the stones with more 
force, they took off their outer garments, and 
asked a young man named Saul to take care 
of them. He was an unbelieving young 
man, who was glad to see Stephen killed. 

Stephen went on praying all the time the 
stones were falling, calling out, Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit. At last, when bruised all 
over and ready to die, he kneeled down and 
said, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. 
Thus with his last breath he asked God to 
forgive his cruel murderers. 

Death of the First Martyr. 

As soon as he had offered this prayer he 
fell asleep. 

This was the death of the first martyr. 
Thousands and thousands of martyrs have 
died like him, praising God and praying for 
their enemies, and they will all come with 
Jesus to reign with him in glory. 

The dead body of Stephen was not left to 
be cast out by his enemies. It was buried 
by holy men, and with tears and sighs. 

The Jews went on ill-treating the believers 
at Jerusalem ; so that many of them went to 
other cities to get out of the reach of their 
enemies. Saul, that young man, who kept 
the clothes of the stoners, was the fiercest of 
all. He went into any house he pleased, and 
dragged the believers to prison — both men 
and women. 

But the apostles would not leave Jerusalem. 
They went on preaching pardon to the mur- 
derers of Jesus, if they would repent. 

One of the deacons was named Philip. 
He went down to Samaria to preach. He 
did not go to Sychar, in Samaria, where 
Jesus had once preached to the woman at 
the well. He went to the finest city in 
Samaria. Its name was the same as the 



480 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



name of the country — Samaria. It was 
built on a beautiful hill, that rises up in 
the midst of a sweet and fruitful valley. 
This city was a very wicked place. There 
were idol temples in it, and there were men 
who worshipped Satan himself. 

Here Philip preached about Jesus; and 
he also did many great miracles, for the 



do, they believed what he told them about 
Jesus, and there was great joy in all the city. 
Why? Because they knew Christ and his 
salvation. 

Among the men who believed there was 
one more wicked than the rest. His name 
was Simon. He had been a great deceiver 
and had made people believe he was very 




STEPHEN STONED TO DEATH BY HIS ENEMIES. 



apostles had once laid their hands on him, 
and given this power to him, as well as to 
Stephen. Many unclean spirits and devils 
came out of poor creatures when Philip 
commanded them. Helpless creatures with 
the palsy rose up and walked at Philip's 
word, and lame people leaped like stags. 
When men saw what wonders Philip could 



great, so that everybody said, This man is 
the great power of God. Little children 
said so, and old men said so, too : rich and 
poor — all admired and praised Simon. He 
was called a sorcerer. What is that ? A 
man who trusts in Satan, and pretends to 
get help from him; a man who tells lies, and 
plays all kinds of deceitful tricks. 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



481 



But now this wicked Simon believed what 
Philip said, and he asked to be baptized. 
People no longer thought him wonderful. 

Every one listened to Philip, and wondered 
at his miracles. Philip thought that Simon 
was turned from his wickedness, and that he 
believed in Jesus with his heart. So he 
baptized him. But Simon's heart was not 
changed. 

Good News from Samaria. 

Though he believed that Jesus was the Son 
of God, he did not love him. He stood by 
Philip, wondering at his miracles and wishing 
that he himself could do more wonderful 
things than he had ever done when he was 
a great sorcerer. He did not repent of his 
past wickedness, nor pray to Christ for par- 
don. 

The apostles, you remember, remained at 
Jerusalem. They were not afraid of the 
cruel hatred of the Jews. They heard the 
good news that the city of Samaria was full 
of believers. They thought that they could 
do them good by going to see them. 

So the apostles sent Peter and John down 
to Samaria. These two apostles were such 
friends that they generally went together. 
When they came to Samaria, they found a 
great many men and women who had turned 
to God, and who had been baptized by Philip. 
But they found none who knew about the 
Holy Ghost and were filled with his power. 

So Peter and John laid their hands on the 
heads of the believers, and prayed that God 
would give them the Holy Ghost. 

Philip had not laid his hands on the be- 
lievers, for he was not an apostle ; he was 
only a deacon, and he could not bestow the 
gift of the Holy Ghost on other people. 
None but the apostles could do this. 

When Simon saw what the apostles did to 
the believers, he thought he would like to be 
31 



able to do the same, that he might be ad- 
mired, as he used to be, and that he might 
get rich. So he took some money, and offered 
it to Peter and John, and said, Do give me 
this power, that when I lay my hands on any 
one he may receive the Holy Ghost. 

He Cared for Nothing but Money. 

The apostles were much displeased at 
Simon for thinking they would take money 
for the gift of God. They were grieved at 
his having such a wicked thought in his 
heart. Peter said to him, Thy money perish 
as we] as thou, because thou hast thought 
that the gift of God may be bought with 
money. Thy heart is not right in the sight 
of God. Repent of thy wickedness, and pray 
God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may 
be forgiven thee. I see that thou are in 
chains of sin. 

Simon seemed frightened by Peter's an- 
swer, for he said, Pray to the Lord for me, 
that nothing you have said may come to me. 
You see he did not ask to be forgiven, but 
only not to be punished. This was a sign 
that his heart was not right. 

He had never really turned to God. He 
still wanted to get money, and to be praised 
by men for his power. He was like the two 
liars — Ananias and Sapphira — a hypocrite. 
He was like Judas — of the devil; and he 
had the curse of God upon him. His money 
was to perish, and he was to perish. 

The apostles Peter and John soon left 
Samaria and returned to Jerusalem. They 
preached in many villages by the way. Per- 
haps they went to Sychar once more, and 
saw that woman who once stood by the well 
with Jesus. 

Philip also aid not remain in Samaria, but 
he did not return to Jerusalem. God had a 
great work for Philip to do. He was to 
bring the Gospel into Africa. There were 



482 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



then three parts of the world : Asia, where 
Jesus had preached ; Europe, where the 
Gospel had not yet been preached ; and 
Africa, where black people lived. To Africa 
God determined to send the Gospel. 

The angel told Philip to go down to the 
Philistines' country, at the lower corner of 
Canaan. Gaza was in that part, but Philip 
did not go near the town ; he went to a 
desert place near it, on the way to Africa. 

It must have seemed strange to Philip to 
hear he must go to a desert. He might 
wonder whom he could preach to in a desert. 
But he went. While he was walking among 
the rocky hills he saw a very fine carriage 
going along. It was coming from Jerusalem. 
There were horses and servants. A great 
lord was sitting in the carriage reading. This 
great lord was the chief servant of a great 
queen called Candace. She was the queen 
of a hot country in Africa called Ethiopia, 
where the people are almost black 

This lord had charge of all the queen's 
treasure, and he was called her treasurer. 
But we do not know his name. 

The Choicest Treasure. 

The Spirit said to Philip, Go near to that 
chariot ; and Philip went. He heard the 
treasurer reading out loud. He had a book, 
in the form of a scroll, in his hand. On 
that scroll, or roll, were written the words of 
the prophet Isaiah. Who would have 
thought that a lord from a heathen country 
would read the Word of God ? 

But this man had been up to Jerusalem to 
worship in the temple. He had not been 
allowed to go farther than the outer court of 
the Gentiles, but his prayers in that court 
were heard, as much as the prayers of the 
priests in the Holy Place. He had brought 
back a greater treasure than all his gold and 
silver, even the words that God once spoke 



to Isaiah. Philip had the courage to speak 
to this great lord. He said to him, Do you 
understand what you are reading? 

If the treasurer had been a proud man he 
would have been affronted by that question 
from a poor stranger ; but he was humble, 
and he answered, How can I understand il 
I have no one to teach me ? And then he 
asked Philip to come and sit by him in hi* 
chariot. When Philip was sitting in the 
chariot, the rich man showed him what he 
was reading. It was that sweet verse in the 
fifty-third chapter : He is brought as a 
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before 
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his 
mouth. 

The Stranger is Baptized. 

The treasurer, after having read this verse, 
said to Philip, I do not know the meaning of 
this. Does the prophet speak of himself, or 
of some other man ? 

Then Philip explained it all to him. He 
told him that Jesus was the lamb, and that 
he had lately been crucified in Jerusalem ; 
and that he had been so meek to his enemies 
as a sheep who makes no noise when he is 
sheared. And he told him that Jesus had 
risen from his grave, and that he had told 
his disciples to go and teach people of all 
countries, and to baptize them in his name. 

The treasurer listened very attentively, 
and wanted to know whether he might be 
baptized. Just at this moment the chariot 
passed by a stream. There are not many 
streams in the desert, and the treasurer was 
pleased to see water. He cried out, Here is 
water ; may I not be baptized? 

Philip said, You may, if you believe with 
all your heart. 

The treasurer replied, I believe that Jesus 
Christ is the Son of God. 

When Philip saw that he believed, he 



THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 



48S 



desired the driver to stop the horses ; and 
Philip and the treasurer both got out and 
went together into the water. There Philip 
baptized this Gentile stranger. 

As soon as they were come up out of the 
water the Spirit caught up Philip, and took 
him to a place by the seaside. The town 
where the Spirit left him was once called 
Ashdod. It was a place where they wor- 
shipped idols, Philip went along by the 



seaside, from place to place, preaching every- 
where. At last he stopped at a fine city 
called Csesarea, built by the Roman emperor, 
Caesar, and named for him. 

The treasurer must have been sorry to 
lose his teacher ; yet he was so happy in his 
Saviour that he went to his home full of joy, 
ready to teach the Queen Candace and all 
her people. So the Gospel came into Africa, 
where many people turned to Jesus. 




THE SANHEDRIM IN SESSION. 



CHAPTER XXXV 



The Story of Saul — The Bright Light from Heaven — A Persecutor Changed to an 
Apostle — Story of Barnabas— Jews Attempt to Kill Saul — Story of Peter and 
Dorcas — Peter on the Housetop — A Remarkable Vision — Simon the Tanner and 
Cornelius — Martyrdom of James — Peter's Escape from Prison — Herod's Speech — 
A Beautiful City — A Notorious Wizzard — The Apostles Suffer Persecution — 
Paul Stoned by a Mob — Success of the Gospel. 




VERY wonderful event is now 
to be related. You remember 
there was a young man named 
Saul, who treated cruelly the 
disciples of Jesus. He took 
care of the clothes of those 
who stoned the holy Stephen. This young 
man thought he did right in ill-treating be- 
lievers in Christ, for he thought Christ was 
^, deceiver, and not really the Son of God. 
After he had done much harm in Jerusalem, 
he went to other cities to hurt the believers 
who lived in them. 

There was a great city, called Damascus, 
more than a hundred miles from Jerusalem. 
He wished to go there. First, he got letters 
from the high priest at Jerusalem, giving him 
leave to seize the believers in Damascus, and 
to bring them in chains to Jerusalem. He 
meant to show these letters to the chief Jews 
in Damascus. But on the way such an event 
happened! 

Saul was travelling with several men as his 
guard. They all arrived in sight of Damas- 
cus about noonday, when the sun is the 
brightest. Suddenly there appeared a light 
from heaven, brighter than the sun. This 
light was so dazzling that all the travellers 
fell down with their faces to the ground, 
quite unable to look up. 

While thus lying prostrate, Saul heard a 
484 



voice from heaven, saying, Saul, Saul, why 
dost thou persecute me? Saul answered, 
Who art thou, Lord? The voice replied, I 
am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. 

Saul's Great Question. 

Saul, still trembling and astonished, in- 
quired, Lord, what wouldst thou have me to 
do ? The voice replied, Arise, and go into 
the city, and it shall be told thee what thou 
must do. 

All this time the other men did not speak 
a word, but they could not hear what Jesus 
said to Saul, only they heard a sound. After 
being struck to the ground they got up, and 
stood by Saul, but Saul himself did not get 
up till Jesus said, Rise, and stand upon thy 
feet. Then Saul arose, and opened his eyes, 
but behold ! he could not see! the dazzling 
light had blinded him! The men were not 
blinded, and they led Saul by the hand into 
the city. They took him to a lodging in 
Straight street, at the house of a man named 
Judas. There Saul sat down, quite blind, 
and he refused to eat or drink for three 
days. 

As he sat in darkness he was thinking of 
his sins against Jesus, and of his cruelty to 
his people. He felt so grieved at all he had 
done, that he could not eat. He thought of 
the poor creatures he had sent to prison, of 




SAUL STRUCK TO THE EARTH ON HIS WAY TO DAMASCUS. 



485 



486 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



those he had beaten, and of Stephen, who 
had been stoned before his eyes. Oh, how 
could I be so wicked? I am the chief of 
sinners. 

While Saul was in this sad state of blind- 
ness and misery, God sent him a dream. It 
was a comforting dream. Saul saw a man in 
his dream whose name was Ananias. He 
came into the room, and put his hands on 
Saul, and said, Receive thy sight. Till this 
dream came, how could Saul know that he 
should ever see again? He knew that he 
well deserved to be always blind. But he 
kept on praying to God for pardon. 

A Remarkable Dream. 

While Saul was praying, there was a man 
m Damascus who had a dream. This man 
was the same Ananias that Saul had seen in 
his dream. He was a very good man, and 
he had heard that Saul was coming from 
Jerusalem to sieze God's people, and to bind 
them in chains. He was much surprised 
when God said to him in a dream, Get up, 
and go into Straight street, and find the 
house of a man called Judas, and ask for a 
man called Saul : for Saul is now praying to 
me ; and he had seen you in a dream coming 
ift and putting your hand on him, that he 
may be able to see. 

Ananias answered the Lord : Many 
people have told me of this man, and of how 
much harm he has done to the holy people 
in Jerusalem ; and how he has come here 
with leave from the chief priests to bind all 
that call on the Lord Jesus. 

But the Lord answered Ananias : Go thy 
way, for I have chosen him to tell many 
people about me — Gentiles, and kings, and 
the children of Israel — and I shall show 
him that he must suffer a great deal for my 
sake. 

Then Ananias went to Straight street, and 



entered into the house or Judas, and went 
up into Saul's room, and put his hands on 
Saul, and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 
who appeared to you as you came to this 
place, has sent me to you, that you may 
receive your sight. As he said this, some- 
thing like skin fell from Saul's eyes, and Saul 
found he was able to see. Soon afterwards 
he was baptized, and then he ate food, and 
he grew strong again. 

Saul stayed a good while in Damascus, 
and he became great friends with all the 
people of the Lord in that city. Those very 
people that he once meant to send to prison 
were now his dearest friends. He went to 
the synagogues, and preached there about 
Jesus Christ, that he was the Son of God. 

After Saul had been preaching a little 
while in Damascus, he left the city to go and 
live in the desert. There was a desert place 
very near Damascus, called Arabia. You 
remember that Jesus himself went into a 
desert, or wilderness, for forty days, at the 
beginning of his preaching. Saul did the 
same, though he did not go into the same 
wilderness as Jesus did, for Jesus went into 
the wilderness on the border of Judea. 

The Jews Try to Kill Him. 

Jesus in his desert was tempted of the 
devil; but we believe that Saul in the desert 
of Arabia was taught by Jesus. We think 
he saw his face there, and heard his voice. 
How happy Saul must have been in the 
desert, if he met Jesus there ; and we think 
he did, because he often tells us how he was 
taught everything by Jesus Christ, and noth- 
ing by man. 

But Saul might not stay long in the 
desert. He returned to Damascus, to preach 
more boldly than ever about Jesus. The 
Jews grew very angry at hearing him praise 
Jesus so much, and declare he was alive. 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



487 



They were so angry that they determined to 
try and kill him. But how could they do it? 

They knew that the governor of Damascus 
was an enemy to Jesus. Aretas was the 
king of Arabia, and Damascus belonged to 
him. King Aretas lived far away from 
Damascus, but he had placed a governor in 
Damascus with many soldiers under him. 

The Jews went to the governor and told 
him they wanted to kill haul. They asked 
him to lend them soldiers to help them to 
seize Saul. They placed some soldiers at 
one of the gates, and some more soldiers at 
another of the gates, and they commanded 
them to stay there night as well as day, and 
to seize Saul if he came near. Saul heard 
of these soldiers being at the gates, so he 
did not try to go through the gates. 

On His Way to Jerusalem. 

The believers in Damascus loved Saul, 
and they found out a way of saving him 
from the unbelieving Jews. 

They took him to a house built by the 
wall, with a window looking out of the city 
into the fields. To this house they took 
Saul secretly. There were large baskets in 
the city, used for holding rubbish before it 
was thrown away. Into such a large basket 
Saul got, and he was then let down by a 
rope into the fields. It was in the night 
when he was let down. 

Saul got out of the basket and walked 
away — a lonely traveller. 

He set his face to go to Jerusalem. Whom 
did he wish to see there? Peter. He 
wanted to see Peter, who had preached the 
first sermon after Christ's resurrection. 

So he sat out on his journey, walking 
over the same ground that he had gone over 
three years ago. But how different he was 
three years ago from what he is now. 

Then he was proud — now he is very 



humble ; then he had all the priests for his 
friends — now he has them for his enemies ; 
then he hated Jesus — now he loves him 
more than his own life. How thankful he 
feels to God as he walks along the road to 
Jerusalem ! Though alone, he is not 
unhappy — though poor, he feels rich- — ■ 
though many want to kill him, he is not 
afraid. 

After a journey of many days through the 
land of Israel, Saul arrived at Jerusalem. 
When he had last been there, what harm he 
had done in the city! But now he came to 
do good, and to save sinners by his preach- 
ing. 

He wanted first to see Peter. But he did 
not know Peter. So he went to the disciples, 
or believers. There were so many of them 
that it was easy to find them. Some of them 
remembered his cruel conduct in old times 
when he lived there, and how he helped at 
the stoning of Stephen. 

They Could Hardly Believe It. 

When Saul told them that he had been 
changed, the disciples did not believe him; 
they thought he was deceiving them by pre- 
tending to be a believer ; they thought he 
wanted to find them out, and then to give 
them up to the high priest. How much Saul 
must have been grieved at the sheep taking 
him for a wolf, when he was now a sheep 
himself! 

One of the disciples was of a very kind dis- 
position, kinder than the rest, though all were 
kind. His name was Barnabas. He had pity 
on Saul, and he believed all he said. He said 
to Saul, Do you want to see Peter ? I will 
bring you to him. So Barnabas took him 
by the hand and led him to Peter's house. 
There was only one other apostle in Jeru- 
salem — James (the brother of Jude) — -who 
wrote the Epistle. 



488 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



Barnabas brought Saul to Peter and 
James, and told them of the light that once 
shone near Damascus, and how Jesus was 
seen in the heaven, and how he said to Saul, 
Why persecutest thou me? He related the 
whole of the wonderful history. Then Peter 
believed that Saul was sincere, and he asked 
Saul to stay at his house fifteen days. And 
James, too, was kind to Saul. It was pleas- 
ant to see the apostles giving their right hands 
to Saul and Barnabas, and receiving them as 
brothers. From this time they might all be 
seen going about Jerusalem together. 

There could not be a happier season than 
was enjoyed by the four believing friends 
going about Jerusalem. Peter and James, 
Saul and Barnabas, were now most affec- 
tionate friends. 

Story of Barnabas. 

I must tell you a little more of Barnabas. 
His name had been Joses. It was changed 
to Barnabas, or, rather, Barnabas was added 
to Joses, so that his name now was Joses 
Barnabas. Why ? Barnabas means " Son 
of Consolation, or Comfort." This was his 
character, as he showed in his behavior to- 
wards Saul. He was a Jew, even a Levite. 
He had fields, and sold them that the money 
might be given to the poor. 

He did not give it to the poor himself; he 
laid it down at the apostles' feet, that the 
apostles might give it to whom they chose. 
A man might do all this, and yet have no 
charity or love in his heart; then his gifts 
would be worthless, for it is written, Though 
I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and 
have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 
But Barnabas was full of love in his heart. 
How much Saul must have loved him for 
bringing him to Peter ! 

It was a great pleasure for Saul to get 
acquainted with Peter, for Peter knew the 



Lord well while that Lord was a man of 
sorrows on earth, but Saul had only seen 
him in glory. Of those four friends, two 
had known him well on earth, and two had 
believed on him after he was ascended; at 
least we suppose that Barnabas had only 
lately believed, and we know that Saul was 
an enemy until lately. 

Jews Offended at His Preaching. 

And where was the loving John. He was 
not in Jerusalem ; so Saul had not the pleas- 
ure at this time of seeing him. Saul could 
not spend all his time in talking with his dear 
friends about Jesus. He desired to preach 
to the unbelievers. 

Saul preached boldly in Jerusalem, and he 
made the Jews very angry by declaring that 
Jesus was the Son of God They began, like 
the Jews in Damascus, to make plans to kill 
him secretly, but the Lord saved him from 
being murdered. 

One day Saul was in the temple praying, 
when the Lord sent him a dream, and said 
to him, Make haste, and go quickly out of 
Jerusalem, for the Jews will not believe what 
you say about me. Saul was surprised, and 
he said, Do not they know how I once put 
believers in prison, and beat them ; and how 
I was standing by when the blood of the 
martyr Stephen was shed, and how I kept 
the clothes of those who killed him ? But 
the Lord still said, Depart, for I will send 
you far away to the Gentiles. 

Then Saul told his friends that he must 
leave Jerusalem, for the Lord had com- 
manded him to go away, because the Jews 
intended to kill him. 

When the disciples heard this, they were 
very anxious to send him away. They took 
him down secretly to the seaside. There 
was a fine town built in honor of the Roman 
Emperor Caesar, and it was called Csesarea. 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



489 



Saul had to go about a hundred miles to this 
town. He must at first have travelled by 
night to hide himself from the Jews. 

What good man was living there who 
would be glad to see Saul ? Philip the 
deacon. Perhaps he had not seen Saul 
.since the stoning of Stephen. How much 
changed Saul was since that time! That 
fierce, proud countenance was now gentle, 
afflicted, and humble. 

But perhaps Saul had no time to visit 
Philip at Caesarea, for his friends were in 
great haste to send him far away. There 
were ships in the harbor of Caesarea. One 
was setting sail for Tarsus. That was Saul's 
native place, and there he wished now to go. 
How far off was it ? Three hundred miles 
over the seas. Saul got into the ship. At 
last he came to land. He did not get out of 
the ship there; he had to sail twelve miles 
more up a river, till he came near to a great 
mountain. Here was Tarsus. Here was his 
home. Here he had played when a child in 
his parents' sight. What would his old play- 
fellows say when they heard he believed in 
Jesus? 

Peter at Lydda. 

Now we must leave Saul at Tarsus, and 
return to Peter. We heard last of his being 
at Jerusalem when Saul paid his visit there. 
But Peter was not always there, for the 
apostles used to go on journeys to preach. 

Once Peter went to a village among the 
hills, just twenty miles from Jerusalem. It 
was called Lydda. There were some of 
Christ's holy people living there, and Peter 
liked to visit them. One man was very ill 
indeed. His name was ^Eneas. He had the 
palsy, and he was so helpless that he had 
kept his bed eight years. Peter went to 
him, and said, ^Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh 
thee well. Arise, ?nd make thy bed. 



Immediately ^Eneas arose, and made his bed. 

You observe that Peter did not say, I 
make thee well ; for he knew he had no 
power in himself. All the people round 
about wished to see ^Eneas ; and when they 
saw this poor paralytic become quite strong, 
they turned to the Lord. 

But Peter did another greater miracle. 
About twelve miles from Lydda there was a 
town by the seaside, called Joppa. Some 
people from Lydda went to Joppa, and said 
to the people there, The apostle Peter has 
come to see us, and he has cured a poor man 
who could not move a limb, and made him 
quite strong, by the power of Jesus. 

Grief at the Death of Dorcas. 

When the people of Joppa heard this, 
they wished much to see Peter, for a very 
good woman had just died at Joppa. Her 
name was Tabitha. She was so kind to poor 
people that many mourned her death. Her 
friends washed her dead body, and laid her 
in an upper room — the best room in the 
house. Oh, how they longed to bring her 
to life ! Some one said, Oh, if Peter would 
but come ! Oh, let us send to beg him to 
come ! 

So the disciples in Joppa sent two men to 
beg Peter to come very quickly before Tabitha 
was buried. 

Peter came immediately with the two men. 
He was led into the upper chamber. He 
heard much weeping and sobbing as he was 
coming in, and he found the room full of 
poor widows and saints, the holy friends of 
Tabitha. The widows showed Peter a great 
many clothes that they held in their hands, 
and told him that Tabitha had woven the 
clothes while she was with them. The name 
they gave her was Dorcas. They loved 
Dorcas very much for spending her time in 
weaving for them. 



490 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



Peter would not let the widows or the 
saints remain in the room. He wanted to 
pray to God alone. So he put the widows 
and saints out of the room, and when he was 
quiet and alone he kneeled down and prayed 
to God, and then he went up to Tabitha's bed, 
and said, Tabitha, arise! She opened her 
■eyes, and she saw Peter. Then she sat up; 
Peter gave her his hand to help her up. 

As soon as she was standing up he called 
the widows in, as well as the saints, and 
showed them their friend. What must have 
been the delight of all to see her alive ! No 
doubt Dorcas made many more clothes for 
poor widows before she died again. It was 
sad for her to die twice, but then her being 
made alive caused many sinners to turn to 
the Lord. 

Simon the Tanner. 

Peter did not return to Jerusalem for a 
long time afterwards, but he took a lodging 
in Joppa. It was by the seaside, at the house 
of a man called Simon. This Simon was a 
tanner. His trade was to make skins into 
leather. 

While Peter was living at Joppa he lodged 
with Simon the tanner. He went up one 
day to the top of the house, which was flat. 
He wanted to be alone. There was often a 
little tent in the corner of the housetop, 
where a man could be shaded from the sun 
and hidden from all. 

Peter went up about twelve o'clock to pray 
to God. He had taken no breakfast that 
morning, for he wished to fast as well as to 
pray. After some time he became very 
hungry, so he asked the servants to get his 
dinner ready immediately. While they were 
getting it ready, he fell into a sort of sleep 
upon the housetop. 

He had a very strange dream in his sleep. 
He thought that the sky was opened, and 



that there was let down out of it a great 
sheet, with the four corners fastened, so that 
the sheet could hold things. Inside there 
were all kinds of fourfooted beasts, and some 
of them were wild ; and all kinds of birds, 
and all kinds of creeping things. What a 
strange heap they must all have looked in 
the sheet. 

A Strange Command. 

Then Peter heard a voice, saying, Rise, 
Peter, kill and eat. Peter was surprised at 
hearing this command, for God had given the 
Jews very strict rules about eating. He had 
forbidden them to eat of beasts called 
unclean, such as pigs, hares, horses, and 
asses. Among birds he had forbidden the 
Jews to eat of eagles, owls, swans, storks, 
and many others ; and also he had forbid- 
den them to eat of creeping things, lizards, 
snails, and moles. 

So when Peter had looked well at these 
unclean animals, he answered the voice, Not 
so, Lord ; for I have never eaten anything 
that is common or unclean. The voice from 
heaven replied, Whatever God has made 
clean, call not thou common. 

Three times the voice spoke these words, 
and then the great sheet of animals was 
taken up again into heaven. 

When the dream was over, Peter went on 
thinking about it, and wondering what could 
be the meaning of it. 

At that time the Spirit spoke to his mind, 
saying, Three men are come to your house, 
and they want you to go with them. Go 
with them, for I have sent them. 

Then Peter went down the stairs from the 
housetop, and he found three men waiting to 
see him, just as the Spirit had told him. He 
said to them, I am the person you want to 
see. Why are you come for me ? 

Then the three men replied : Cornelius, a 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



49l 



very good man, was told by a holy angel to 
send for you to come to his house, that you 
might tell him how he may be saved. 

Peter found that these three men were the 
servants of Cornelius, and that Cornelius 
was a great captain. The three men were 
not Jews; and Cornelius, the master, was 
not a Jew. They were all Romans. Now 



they had slept on the way. Peter asked 
them to stop that night and to sleep in the 
house where he lodged, and he promised to 
go with them next day. 

He went and told his friends in Joppa what 
had happened. He said to them, I wish you 
would go with me to Caesarea to see Corne 
lius, the Roman captain. 




the Jews called all other nations Gentiles ; 
and they despised them all as common or 
unclean. Peter saw why the dream had 
been sent to him ; he saw that God did not 
call these men common or unclean. So 
Peter promised to go with them. 

The three men told Peter they came from 
Csesarea, a town fifty miles off. They had 
not been able to walk so far in one day; so 



PETERS VISION ON THE HOUSETOP. 

Six of them consented to go with him. 



Next day the whole party set out on their 
journey. There were Peter and the six Jews, 
his friends; there were also the three ser- 
vants of Cornelius — they were Gentiles. 

The travellers walked about twenty miles 
along the seacoast, and then they rested for 
the night, though we know not where. Next 
day they set out again, and they arrived at 



492 



THE STORY OF SAUL 



Caesarea in the afternoon. Caesarea was a 
very grand town among the rocks of the 
seashore. It was Herod who had made it 
so grand, and he had built a palace there. 
Peter did not go to that palace; he went 
straight up to the house of Cornelius. 

It was four days since Cornelius had seen 
the angel in his house. Cornelius knew that 
his servants would be two days going to 
Joppa, and two days in coming back. So 
he was expecting Peter to arrive that after- 
noon, and he had invited all his relatives and 
his dearest friends to come to his house that 
day. 

When he heard that Peter was at the gate, 
he went out to meet him. When he saw him, 
he did not shake hands (as we do with our 
friends), nor did he embrace him, but he fell 
at his feet and worshipped him. Peter did 
not approve this. He gave him his hand, 
saying, Stand up ; for I myself also am a man. 

At the House of Cornelius. 

Then Cornelius led him into a large room 
filled with his friends and relatives. They 
were all Gentiles. 

Once Peter would not have gone into a 
room with any Gentile ; but now he would 
go to Gentiles, just the same as to Jews. He 
told these Gentiles of his dream, and how the 
angel had said, What God hath cleansed, that 
call not thou common. 

Then Peter asked Cornelius to tell him 
tvhy he hcd sent for him. 

Cornelius spoke to Peter before all the 
company, saying, Four days ago I had taken 
no food, and at three o'clock I prayed in my 
house, and behold a man stood before me in 
bright clothing, and he said, Cornelius, thy 
prayer is heard, and thy charity to the poor 
is remembered by God. Send to Joppa, and 
ask for a man named Simon Peter. He 
lodges in the house of Simon, a tanner, by 



the seaside. Ask him to come here. When 
he comes he will tell thee what thou must 
do. So I sent immediately for thee; and thou 
hast done right in coming. We are all assem- 
bled here to listen to all that God has com- 
manded thee to say to us. 

Then Peter began to preach to these Gen- 
tiles. He told them about Jesus — how the 
Jews had killed him, and how God had 
raised him from the dead. Peter ended his 
sermon with these words : Whosoever be- 
lieveth in him shall receive forgiveness of 
sins. 

A Praise Meeting. 

As soon as Peter had spoken, the Holy 
Ghost fell on all the Gentiles in the room, 
just as once he had fallen on the Jews; and 
these Gentiles began to praise God as the 
Jewish Christians did. 

The six Jews who had come with Peter 
were very much astonished at seeing that 
God gave the Holy Ghost to Gentiles. 

Then Peter said, Can any man forbid us 
to baptize these men with water, now they 
have received the Holy Ghost as we did? 
So he had them baptized. No doubt it was 
the six Christian Jews from Joppa who bap- 
tized them. 

Ever since that time Gentiles have always 
been baptized when they believed in Jesus. 

Peter stayed a good while with Cornelius 
and his friends at Caesarea. He had a great 
deal to teach them, and they were anxious to 
learn. After a while he went again to Jeru- 
salem. He told the saints in Jerusalem all 
about Cornelius, and these good men were 
very much pleased, and praised God, saying, 
God hath given repentance unto the Gentiles. 

But very great troubles soon came upon 
the saints in Jerusalem. Caesar at Rome 
appointed Herod to be king of Jerusalem 
and of all the land. 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



493 



Who was this Herod ? He was not the 
Herod who killed John the Baptist, and 
mocked Jesus the Saviour. That Herod had 
been sent far away by the Emperor Caesar. 
This Herod was his nephew, and he was the 
grandson of the Herod who killed, long ago, 
the babes of Bethlehem. What a wicked 
family these Herods were ! This Herod corn- 



Herod saw that the Jews were pleased 
with him for killing James, so he thought he 
would kill Peter too ; and he sent soldiers to 
seize him and to put him in prison ; but, as 
he had heard of his once escaping from 
prison, he ordered sixteen soldiers to guard 
him night and day. 

Herod fixed the day when Peter was to 




PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON BY AN ANGEL. 



manded his soldiers to seize James, the brother 
of John, and to cut off his head with a sword. 
So now John lost his brother. Those two 
brothers had been with Jesus on the mount 
of glory and in the garden of agony. James 
was one of the three favorites of the Lord, 
though John was the most beloved of all. 
He was the first of all the apostles to be 
killed for the sake of Jesus. 



be killed. The night before that terrible day 
the saints met together to pray for him. The 
other apostles had left Jerusalem, lest they 
also should be killed ; but there were many 
saints still there. They met together in the 
house of a very good woman named Mary. 
She was not one of the Marys we have 
heard of before. She was the sister of that 
g-ood Barnabas who had once been so kind 



494 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



to Saul. Mary and her friends were sitting 
up all the night. Peter was quietly sleeping 
in prison. It was the beginning of summer, 
and it was warm. Peter had taken off his 
sandals and his upper garment, but he could 
not take off a chain from each hand, which 
vwas fastened to a soldier's hand on each side 
of him. Suddenly an angel made the dark 
prison brighter than the day. Yet Peter was 
so sound asleep that he did not wake till the 
angel touched him, saying, Arise up quickly. 
And as Peter rose up the chains fell off his 
hands. 

Peter's Escape from Prison. 

Then the angel bade him tighten his 
clothes round his waist, put on his sandals, 
and wrap himself in his loose upper garment. 
All this time the soldiers slept. 

The angel said, Follow me. Peter fol- 
lowed, feeling as if he were dreaming. The 
angel led him past many soldiers that had 
been placed to watch outside, and brought 
him to the great iron gate. Though it had 
bolts and bars, it opened without key and 
without hand, as if it had opened itself. 

The angel brought him down one street, 
and then departed. 

When Peter found himself alone he stopped 
to think of what had happened. He saw that 
God had set him free and saved him from 
death. He had heard that the saints were 
sitting up at night to pray for him in Mary's 
house. So he went there. He knocked at 
the door of the porch, and Rhoda the maid 
came to the door. You know the history — 
how, when she heard Peter's voice outside, 
saying, Let me in, her joy was so great that 
she forgot to open the door, but ran into the 
house to tell his friends that Peter was there, 
and how they would not believe her, but 
said it was some angel that took care of 
Peter. 



Peter, however, went on knocking, till 
many friends rushed to the door and saw 
his face. They were inclined to make much 
noise in their joy, but Peter made a sign for 
them to be quiet, as noise might have been 
heard by their enemies. When they were 
quiet Peter told them how the Lord had de- 
livered him. He then said, Go and tell this 
to James and the brethren. 

It was James the brother of Jude that he 
meant — the same James that Saul had seen. 
Then Peter went away to some place that 
Herod did not know of. 

As soon as it was day the soldiers were 
ready to lead out Peter to die, but they could 
not find him. They could not think what 
had become of him. 

Herod heard that Peter was missing, just 
as he was expecting to see him led forth in 
chains. He sent for the soldiers who had 
the charge of him, and asked them where he 
was; and when they could not tell him, he 
had them all put to death, instead of Peter. 

Herod On His Throne. 

Afterwards this cruel man made a journey 
to Caesarea. That was the place where Cor- 
nelius lived. It was a very grand city, and 
there was a grand palace in it for King Herod. 
There was another grand building in it, where 
the multitude often came to see shows of men 
wrestling and beasts fighting. 

Herod's chief servant was named Blastus. 
This Blastus told Herod that some men 
were come from Tyre in a ship, and that these 
men wanted to ask the king's pardon for 
something they had done to affront him. 

Herod agreed to see the men from Tyre, 
and he fixed a day for their coming to the 
grand building. A multitude assembled to 
hear Herod speak to the men of Tyre. 
There were stone seats for the multitude 
from the floor to the ceiling, all round this 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



495 



vast hall, and there was a great purple 
throne for Herod in the midst. 

Herod wished to look very splendid and 
glorious that day. He was dressed in glit- 
tering robes of silver, which when the sun 
shone dazzled the eyes of the beholders. 
Blastus brought in the men of Tyre to hear 
the king's speech. 

Then Herod made a speech to the people, 
and he used such fine words that the people 
shouted and cried out, It is the voice of a 
god and not of a man ! This was a wicked 
thing to say. I am sure if Cornelius was 
there he did not join in the shout. Herod 
felt pleased with thf words. He liked to be 
thought a god. 

Three Wicked Kings. 

But God was so much displeased with 
the words that he sent his angel to make 
Herod ill that very moment. He felt such 
horrible pain that he could not stay on his 
throne, and he was carried by his servants 
to his bed. Then his flesh was eaten by 
worms while he was still alive. No doctor 
could cure him, and in five days he died. 
Thus every one saw how unlike he was to a 
god. 

God showed, by sending him this loath- 
some disease, how much he hates pride — 
even a proud thought. His sin was, liking 
to be called a god, and not giving Jesus the 
glory. 

We have heard of three Herods, and all 
were very wicked. 

The first killed the babes of Bethlehem. 

The second killed John the Baptist, and 
mocked Jesus. 

And the third killed James, and would 
have killed Peter if he could. 

They were all proud of being kings, and 
they all hated the true King of the Jews. 

Do you remember where Saul had gone 



when he left Jerusalem ? He had gone to 
his own country — his native city — Tarsus. 

At Tarsus he had played when he was a 
little boy ; at Tarsus he had sat on his 
mother's knee; at Tarsus he had been 
taught to repeat his first Jewish prayers. 

Now he could tell his parents (if they 
were alive) about Jesus ; now he could tell 
his old playmates about him who was cruci- 
fied at Jerusalem a little while ago. But he 
knew he must not stay there always, for 
God had chosen him to preach to all nations. 

One day a man arrived in Tarsus, inquir- 
ing for Saul. Who was this man ? Saul's 
kindest friend. When the apostles had 
turned away from Saul this man had taken 
him by the hand, and begged them to 
receive him as a brother. This man was 
Barnabas. His name was Son of Consola- 
tion, or Comfort. Was not Saul glad to see 
him ? Oh yes ! glad indeed. 

Barnabas had a great deal to tell him. He 
told him that he had come from a heathen 
city, where many people had turned unto the 
Lord. Come with me, said he, to the city 
of Antioch ; for we want you there to teach 
the heathen who have just turned to the 
Lord. 

A Beautiful City. 

Saul willingly went with Barnabas to the 
city of Antioch, in Syria. It was a very 
grand city, full of fine houses, and beautiful 
gardens, and heathen temples ; but there 
were quiet rooms in it, where many believers 
met together to worship the Father and the 
Son. In this city a new name was given to 
believers in Christ. They were called Chris- 
tians, and they have kept that name, even to 
this day. 

Saul and Barnabas spent a whole year in 
Antioch, preaching to the new Christians. 
Once only they took a journey to Jerusalem. 



496 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



The Christians at Antioch sent them there 
to give money to poor saints, as bread was 
very scarce and dear. This was a proof of 
their love for Jesus, as it was at Jerusalem 
that Jesus died and rose again. 

While Saul and Barnabas were living at 
Antioch, in Syria, the Holy Gho^t said to the 
Christian teachers, Let Barnabas and Saul go 
to the work I have called them to do. So 
the other Christian teachers prayed, and sent 
them out to preach to the heathen. 

And they took with them a young man, 
named John Mark. He was the nephew of 
Barnabas, and his uncle was fond of him, and 
liked to have him with him. 

They Went to Cyprus. 

Where did they first go ? They went to 
the native country of Barnabas. Saul had 
once gone to his native place, Tarsus, and 
now Barnabas wished to go to his. Barna- 
bas had been born in a very large and beau- 
tiful island, called Cyprus. 

Saul and Barnabas sailed to Cyprus in a 
ship. They could easily get there in a day. 
When they landed at Salamis, the port, they 
found themselves among orange groves and 
apricot gardens. The hills were covered with 
vines, and the green pastures were sprinkled 
over with milk-white flocks. But this sweet 
country was made hateful by the wicked ways 
of its people. The two apostles preached 
everywhere they could. They went all 
through the island preaching. The island 
is about one hundred miles long. 

At the farther end, there was a city called 
Paphos, where the governor lived. His name 
was Sergius Paulus. He was a Roman, and 
was king or governor under Caesar at Rome, 
just as Pontius Pilate had been king in Jeru- 
salem. 

But he was a much wiser man than Pilate. 
When he heard of the preaching of the won- 



derful strangers, he wanted to hear them 
preach, and so he sent for them, that he 
might learn about the true God. 

The two apostles went into the palace of 
the governor, hoping to lead him to believe 
in Jesus. 

There was a very wicked man in the room, 
His name was Bar-jesus. He was a Jew, and 
had a Jewish name, meaning the Son of Jesus, 
but he was really the son of Satan. He had 
another name, Elymas, meaning Wise Man — 
for he professed that he got wisdom from the 
unseen world, and he pretended to do won- 
ders. He was a wizzard, or one who knew 
the wise art. He was a sorcerer and a con- 
jurer. This wicked Jew could not bear to 
hear of Jesus, and he tried to turn away the 
governor from believing in him. We do not 
know what he said, only that he spoke against 
the Gospel. 

Punished with Blindness. 

Saul then turned towards him and fixed his 
eyes upon him, saying, O full of all subtility 
and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou 
enemy of all righteousness! the hand of the 
Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, 
not seeing the sun for a season. 

Immediately this wicked man found him- 
self in darkness, and he spread out his hands, 
hunting for some one to lead him by the 
hand. 

The governor, when he saw this miracle, 
believed in the Lord. What a just punish- 
ment this sorcerer had! He tried to keep 
the governor in darkness of heart, that he 
should not see the Light of the world. How 
this punishment must have reminded Saul of 
the time when he was made blind. 

Saul hoped that this sorcerer might have 
his sight returned one day, for he said to him, 
Thou shalt not see the sun for a season. He 
did not say he should never see it again ; but 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



497 



no one knows whether Bar-jesus ever re- 
pented, or whether he died a blind sinner. 

After this visit to Cyprus you will never 
hear Saul spoken of any more. From this 
time his name is Paul. No one knows why 
his name was changed; perhaps it was be- 
cause Paul was a Roman name and suited 
him, now he preached to the Romans and 
other Gentiles. Saul was only a Jewish 
name. 

Paul and Barnabas soon left the island of 
Cyprus. They wanted to go from land to 
land to preach the Gospel. They set sail 
from Paphos, crossed the sea in a ship, and 
came to the great country called Asia. 
They landed near a town called Perga, on 
the banks of a river, under high and steep 
rocks. Beyond they saw great mountains 
with tops covered with snow. 

It was at Perga that John Mark gave 
great sorrow to his uncle and to Paul. He 
said he would go back to Jerusalem, where 
his mother Mary lived. 

What was his reason? He was not ill. 
Then he would have had a good reason for 
going away. 

Mark's Courage Fails. 

It is possible he was afraid to go on. 
Perhaps he did not like the thought of climb- 
ing up those snowy mountains, nor creeping 
along dark, rocky paths, where robbers lay 
hid in the caves, ready to burst out upon 
travellers. Perhaps he was afraid lest other 
men as wicked as Bar-jesus should scoff at 
him, and put him in prison or till him. We 
cannot tell what were the feelings of John 
Mark, but we think he had not courage to 
bear the troubles of the way. 

He found a ship going from Perga to the 

coast near Jerusalem, and he sailed in it. 

Did not his heart reproach him for leaving 

the holy apostles in the midst of their 

32 



journey? We know not how soon he felt 
sorry for what he had done ; but we know 
that in the end he proved a brave and zealous 
man, and wrote the Gospel called by his 
name, Mark. This John Mark has the 
honor of being one of the four evangelists. 

Paul and Barnabas went on their journey 
together. They travelled on foot over cold 
mountains to a country called Pisidia. 

A Strange Building. 

They had left the mountains behind, and 
they had reached a wilderness scattered over 
with lakes and bogs. At last they came to 
a large city on the top of a low hill. This 
city was called Antioch. 

That is a name we have heard before. 
You have heard of Antioch in Syria; but 
this city was Antioch in Pisidia. The other 
Antioch was not far from the sea ; this 
Antioch was on a flat land near the mountains. 

On the Sabbath day the apostles go to the 
synagogue. It is a strange building of a 
round shape, with seats rising one above 
another. In the middle is a high wooden 
table, where an old man with a long beard 
reads out of a scroll he holds in his hand; he 
reads in Hebrew, and an interpreter trans- 
lates into Greek : for all the people around 
understand Greek. After the old man, or 
the president, has done reading the scroll, he 
has it carefully rolled up and put into a large 
chest ; he then sends a message to Paul and 
Barnabas, asking them to preach. 

Paul rose up and began his sermon. He 
told the history of the Saviour's death and 
resurrection. He said near the end of the 
sermon these words : Through this man 
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. 

The Jews were very angry at the sermon, 
and went out murmuring against Paul ; but 
the Gentiles stayed behind to beg him to 
preach the next Sabbath about Jesus. 



498 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



These Gentiles were called proselytes; 
they had already turned from idols to believe 
in the true God, and now they would not 
leave the apostles, but followed them about, 
hoping to hear more about Jesus. Paul and 
Barnabas during the whole week tried to 
persuade those who believed to continue firm 
and steadfast in the faith of Jesus. 

The second Sabbath of Paul's visit there 
was a great stir in the place ; almost the 
whole city came to the synagogue to hear 
the word of God. 

The Jews were so angry to see such a large 
congregation that they spoke against Jesus, 
and contradicted all that Paul said. This 
wicked conduct displeased the two holy 
apostles. Before they left the synagogue 
they said, As the Jews will not hear the 
word of God, we return to the Gentiles. 
The Gentiles were glad to hear this, and 
many more believed. But the Jews grew 
more and more angry, till at last they made 
the preachers leave the city. 

Persecuted at Iconium. 

When the two apostles left Antioch in 
Pisidia they went to another city. God gave 
the name of apostles to both of them ; for 
though they were not of the number of the 
twelve, they were both sent forth by the Holy 
Ghost, who is God. None are called apos- 
tles but those whom God himself — Father, 
Son, or Spirit — sent forth. 

The apostles went on their way till they 
came to a city sixty miles off. It was called 
Iconium. The two apostles went again into 
a synagogue, and preached again to the Jews 
and also to those Gentiles who had turned to 
the true God — the proselytes. But the un- 
believing Jews set the Gentiles against the 
apostles and all the Christians. 

The apostles stayed a long while in Ico- 
nium, and preached very boldly about Jesus, 



and did many miracles to prove that their 
word was true. There was so much strife 
between the unbelievers and the believers, 
that it was very hard for the apostles to bear 
the treatment they met with ; but they were 
ready to suffer persecution for the truth's 
sake. 

At last they heard that a plan was made 
by their enemies to stone them. Then they 
thought it was right for them to escape. 
They left Iconium and passed through a 
country where shepherds fed their flocks, 
till they came to a town named Lystra. 
The people of Lystra had taken Jupiter for 
their god, and had built him a handsome 
temple, and had placed in it an ivory image 
of Jupiter — as a very fine, grand-looking man. 

They were Called Gods. 

In Lystra the apostles preached the Gos- 
pel. A poor cripple, who had never walked, 
sat at Paul's feet while he was preaching. 
He believed in Jesus crucified for his sins. 
Paul fixed his eyes on him, and seeing he 
had faith, he said with a loud voice, Stand 
upright on thy feet. Immediately the man 
sprang up and began to walk. 

When the people saw what Paul had done, 
they cried out, The Gods have come down 
to us, looking like men ! This was said in 
the common language of the country, and not 
in Greek. The apostles did not understand 
what the people said, or they would have told 
them at once that they were not gods. 

So the apostles went to their home in the 
city, while the people went to the idol priest 
to ask him to bring oxen and garlands of 
flowers to the gates. When Paul and Bar- 
nabas heard that oxen were going to be sac- 
rificed to them they were very much grieved. 

The people thought Barnabas was Jupiter, 
the king of heaven, because he was tall and 
grand-looking ; and they thought Paul was 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



499 



Mercury, because he spoke well — and Mer- 
cury was the god of fine speaking. 

The apostles were dreadfully hurt when 
they knew that the oxen were to be sacrificed 
in their honor, and they tore their clothes 
and ran in among the people, saying, We 
are men like yourselves, and we preach that 
you may turn to the true God who made 
heaven and earth. Yet the apostles could 
hardly persuade the people to give up their 
plan of sacrificing to them. 

Stoned and Dragged Out of the City. 

But they had not long to suffer from being 
too much honored ; for those who would have 
been their worshippers were easily changed 
into their murderers. 

And this is how it came to pass : Some 
Jews came from Antioch, and some Jews 
came from Iconium, full of hatred against 
the apostles. They easily set the people 
of Lystra against them. Nothing now would 
satisfy these wicked men but killing the apos- 
tles. They stoned Paul upon the spot. When 
he seemed dead they dragged his body out 
of the city. The believers would not leave 
that dear body, but stood over it lamenting ; 
suddenly the body moved, rose up, and walked 
into the city. What joy for Barnabas and all 
who loved Paul! 

He stayed one night only among his mur- 
derers. The next day he left for Lystra, 
accompanied by Barnabas. Paul must have 
felt great pain while he was being stoned. 
Did he not then think of Stephen, whose 
pain he once witnessed ? Then he rejoiced 
at the sight; now he bitterly lamented the 
sin. 

What a terrible event was the stoning at 
Lystra ! Did Paul go on his journey after 
that? Yes, he did. He went to one city 
more, called Derbe. There the apostles 
preached the Gospel and taught many. 



Then they determined to return by the 
way they came. They saw again the be- 
lievers in Lystra, in Iconium, and in Antioch 
in Pisidia. Everywhere Paul and Barnabas 
entreated the believers to continue trusting 
in Jesus. They appointed elders to teach, 
and they prayed with them and commended 
them to the Lord. At last they came to 
Perga, where John Mark had once left them. 
From a port near Perga they set sail, and 
came back to Antioch in Syria. 

When they returned they asked all the 
Christians to come together to hear them 
give an account of their journey. They told 
the Christians about Sergius Paulus, in the 
island of Cyprus, and of many more Gen- 
tiles turning to the Lord. 

Paul and Barnabas lived in Antioch in 
Syria for a long while, teaching the word of 
the Lord. During the time they lived in 
Antioch they once paid a visit to Jerusalem, 
The reason they went there was to settle a 
dispute. 

Great Rejoicing. 

This was the dispute : Some Jews came 
down to Antioch, saying that Gentiles ought 
to observe all the ceremonies that Moses 
taught, such as sacrifices and circumcision. 
Paul and Barnabas said that Gentiles need 
not observe these laws of Moses. But the 
other Jews would not agree to what they 
said. So Paul and Barnabas, and some 
other holy men, went to Jerusalem to con- 
sult the apostles. As they went along they 
preached at places by the way, and told the 
history of the conversion of many Gentiles, 
What they related caused great joy among 
the brethren. 

When Paul and Barnabas arrived at Jeru- 
salem they saw many believers, and told 
them the same history. Paul had seen 
Peter and James before, but now he saw 



500 



THE STORY OF SAUL. 



John for the first time. What joy for Paul 
to see him who had leaned on Jesus' bosom ! 
All the apostles and elders agreed to meet 
together to consider about the Gentiles keep- 
ing the old laws of Moses. They were all of 
one mind about not troubling the Gentiles 
V : ^ the ceremonies of Moses. The breth- 



ren in Jerusalem wrote a letter to the 
brethren in Antioch saying what they 
thought. Paul and Barnabas and other 
brethren took this letter back to Antioch; 
they read it at a meeting of the Christians 
there, and all who heard this letter were 
much comforted. 




ANTIOCH. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



Paul and Barnabas Separate — The Young Man Timothy — Paul and Silas at 
Philippi — The House of Lydia — Casting Out an Evil Spirit — Locked up in 
the Old Prison — An Earthquake — The Jailor's Fright — Leaving Thessalomca 
by Night — At Berea — Arrival at Athens — Paul Preaching on Mars' Hill — 
the City of Corinth — Story of Gallio — A New Preacher from Egypt — Aquila 
and Priscilla — Apollos Preaching in Greece. 




EAL in the new cause made the 
disciples at Jerusalem ready for 
any toil or sacrifice, and so 
when Paul and Barnabas were 
leaving, they took with them 
several holy men. One of these 
was a prophet called Silas. He became a 
great friend of Paul's, and he liked to stay 
with him at Antioch when the other brethren 
went back to Jerusalem 

At last Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go 
again and see the people to whom we preached 
in our journey. Barnabas was quite ready 
to go. The next question was, Who shall 
go with us ? Barnabas said. I will take my 
nephew, John Mark. No, said Paul, he shall 
not go with us. Why not? said Barnabas. 
Because he left us on our journey. Barnabas 
said that he would like to try him again. 
But Paul would not try him again. 

Neither Paul nor Barnabas would give up 
to the other. At the end it was settled that 
they must part from one another. Barnabas 
took Mark with him and set sail for Cyprus, 
his own country, where he had once preached 
the Gospel. 

Paul chose for his companion Silas, the 
prophet, and he went to his own native place, 
Tarsus, where he had once preached the 
Gospel. 

He went over some very high mountains, 



called Tarsus (or the bull) — mountains with 
caps of snow on their heads — and he soon 
came to Lystra, where he had once been 
stoned. He was not afraid of going there 
again. This was his third visit. This time 
the people neither stoned him, nor wanted to» 
offer sacrifice to him. 

Young Timothy. 

Here }~ -* ' : jund a young man named Tim- 
othy. He felt a great affection for this Tim- 
othy. Timothy's mother v/as a Jewess. She 
had taught Timothy to know the Scriptures 
when he was quite a child. His grandmother 
also had taught him. But he did not know 
about Jesus till Paul preached at Lystra the 
first time, just before he was stoned. Paul 
heard a very good character of Timothy from 
all the Christians at Lystra. He wished very 
much to have him as a companion on his 
journey. Timothy was quite ready to go. 
These two were like father and son. Paul 
had no son of his own, and he was glad to 
have Timothy for his son. He called him 
his dearly beloved son. 

Now there were three travelling together — - 
Paul, Silas, and young Timothy. On the first 
journey there were three also, Paul, Barnabas, 
and young Mark. - But Timothy was more 
faithful than Mark had been. He was in- 
deed a comfort to Paul. 

501 



502 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



Paul long afterwards reminded Timothy of 
persecutions and afflictions which came unto 
him at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what 
persecutions he endured : but out of them all 
the Lord delivered him. 

A "Wonderful Dream. 

These three friends travelled about Asia 
together. I do not mean the great Asia, 
but the little Asia that you will see on the 
map just above Cyprus. One day they 
came to the town called Troas. It was by 
the seacoast. 

One night Paul had a wonderful dream. 
He saw a man standing and speaking very 
earnestly to him, saying, Come over and 
help us. He knew that the man came from 
Macedonia. Perhaps the man in the dream 
said where he came from, or perhaps Paul 
knew by his dress and language to what 
country he belonged. When Paul awoke he 
told his dream to his companions. Luke 
was one of them. 

We do not know where he first saw Luke. 
Paul must have been very glad to get 
Luke for a companion. Luke was a very 
learned, clover man, and he wrote this 
history we are reading from the Bible ; yes, 
it was Luke who wrote the Acts. 

He wrote also one of the histories of our 
Saviour, and for that reason he is called 
Evangelist — for the four men who wrote the 
four histories of Jesus are called the Evange- 
lists. Luke was a physician and doctor.. 
Paul called him the beloved Physician. 

There were now four travellers. I need 
not repeat their names. They must have 
been happy together, praying and singing 
hymns to Jesus. The four friends set sail 
in a little ship. They were two days on the 
voyage. The second day they arrived at the 
seacoast of Macedonia, the country of the 
<nan in the dream. 



They went to a fine city called Phillippi. 
It was built on a great plain close by a river. 
Very few Jews lived in this city, so there 
was no synagogue in it. But there was a 
little house for prayer close by the river side. 

On the Jewish Sabbath-day — which was 
Saturday — the four ministers went to this 
prayer house. They found a few women at 
the prayer-meeting. The men, perhaps, 
would not come. 

All at the House of Lydia. 

The ministers sat down and spoke to the 
women. There was one woman there who 
listened most attentively. Her name was 
Lydia. Her trade was selling a purple dye 
fit for the robes of kings. This woman came 
from Asia to sell her purple dye, but she 
discovered in that meeting a treasure more 
precious than the purple of kings. She found 
the Lord Jesus. While Paul was speaking 
about his love, God opened Lydia's heart. 

After the service she spoke to Paul and 
told him that she believed in Jesus, and that 
she wished to be baptized. Paul approved 
of her so well that he had her baptized ; and 
also her family and servants. Probably they 
went down to the river close by. 

Then Lydia asked the four ministers to do 
her a great favor. It was, to come to her 
house and live there as long as they stayed 
in Philippi. 

It would cost a great deal to get food for 
four men, but Lydia loved them all for the 
sake of Jesus. At first they refused; but 
she pressed them so much that they con- 
sented to go to her house. 

How happy were Paul and his friends 
when they first came to Philippi! You do 
not forget their names, Silas, Timothy, and 
Luke. Nobody ill-treated them, and Lydia 
loaded them with kindness. But soon there 
was a great change. 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



503 



The four ministers went very often to the 
house of prayer. There they used to preach 
as well as pray. A young slave-girl once 
met them as they were going, and she fol- 
lowed them, crying out, These men are the 
servants of God, who show unto us the way 
of salvation. 

How strange it was for a girl to cry Dut 
in this way in the streets ! She was a poor, 
miserable girl. The devil had come into 
her, and made her say wonderful things. 
Her masters were wicked men, who sent her 
out to get money by saying what the devil 
told her. She was called a sorceress. 

The four ministers were grieved to hear 
her words, but they said nothing at first. 

Paul and Silas Arrested. 

Another day the young girl met the min- 
isters again. Another day she met them 
again; and so she went on, following them, 
and calling after them, day after day. 

One day Paul knew that Jesus would give 
him the power to cast out the spirit in the 
girl, so he turned and said, I command thee 
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of 
her. And immediately the spirit came out 
of her. 

Was it not a happy thing for this poor girl 
to be delivered from the tormenting devil ? 
For though what she had said of Paul was 
true, she told many lies, by which she had 
got money for her masters. 

Those wicked men grew very angry. They 
said, We shall get no more money by our 
slave telling people what will happen. So 
they went to meet the good men. They 
caught hold of Paul and Silas, and dragged 
them to the market-place. They complained 
of them, to the judges, saying, These men 
are Jews, and they are a great trouble to our 
city, for they teach us new customs. 

The multitudes joined in abusing them. 



No doubt they did not like the girl's being 
stopped from telling them what she fancied 
was going to happen, so they were very 
angry with Paul and Silas. 

"Whipped with Rods. 

The judges were ready to please the peo- 
ple, and so instead of judging them, they 
ordered their men to beat them. The clothes 
of Paul and Silas were torn off their backs, 
and they were beaten with rods. Every 
stroke of the rod left a red stripe upon the 
flesh of these holy men. I do not know 
what number of stripes they had to bear, but 
the number was more than forty. It was 
only the Jews who gave no more than forty. 
The Gentiles gave any number of stripes. 

The cruel judges sent Paul and Silas to 
prison with their stripes all bleeding, and 
they ordered the keeper of the prison not to 
let them escape. 

The keeper, or jailer, was as cruel as the 
judges. He gave them no food, nor did he 
bind up their wounds; but he thrust them 
into a dungeon under ground, and placed 
their feet in the stocks. There they sat — 
unable to move their legs or to draw their 
feet out of the holes in the board — unable to 
lie down or to stand up. 

Where were Luke and Timothy? They 
had not been seized by their enemies. How 
much grieved they must have been when 
they heard what had happened to their dear 
friends ! What must Timothy have felt for 
his father in the Lord. We were shamefully 
entreated at Philippi, said Paul to the Thessa- 
lonians. 

Paul and Silas were sitting in the stocks at 
night, when a sound was heard from their 
dungeon. Was it the voice of weeping and 
wailing? No, it was the voice of singing! 
And what was the singing about? It was 
the praises of God the prisoners were singing. 



504 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



What could they praise God for? Did 
they praise him for letting them be thrust 
into a horrible dungeon? Yes! They praised 
him for letting them suffer for the sake of 
Jesus, because they knew they should rejoice 
with him when he came again in his glory. 

The other prisoners heard them sing. 
They were most of them thieves or murder- 
ers — wicked men, who deserved to be pun- 
ished. But now we hope the singing turned 
their hearts to God; for the apostles sang 
about Christ. They sang such a song as, 
Worthy is the Lamb, for he was slain for us. 

Suddenly a dreadful sound was heard : it 
was the earth moving up and down — God 
had sent an earthquake. 

He Fell Down Trembling. 

So great was the earthquake that it shook 
the dungeon, opened the doors, and undid 
the chains. The apostles found their feet 
were set free from the holes in the boards. 
They could easily run away. But they did 
not move, because they knew it was God's 
will they should stay. Nor did any of the 
prisoners escape, though they easily could. 

The keeper was asleep, and was awakened 
by the earthquake. When he saw the doors 
standing open he felt sure the prisoners 
must be gone. He knew he had been wrong 
in sleeping, and he felt afraid that he should 
be condemned to die by the rulers. 

So he took out his sword, and was just 
going to stab himself, when he heard a loud 
voice from the dungeon calling out, Do thy- 
self r no harm, for we are all here. Great was 
his surprise. He called for a light, and 
sprang into the dungeon, and fell down 
trembling at the feet of Paul aud Silas — 
those feet he had once cruelly thrust into the 
stocks. 

Immediately he brought them out of the 
dungeon, and said to them, Sirs, what must 



I do to be saved ? He wanted now to save 
his soul. Paul and Silas answered, Believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be 
saved, and all thy family and servants. 

The jailer had heard before that Jesus 
had died to save him, and now he wished to 
be baptized. But first he washed the prison- 
ers' stripes, and then was baptized with all 
his family. This must have been done with- 
out any delay. 

Afterwards the jailer took the prisoners 
into his own house, and he brought them 
food. While they were sitting at supper he 
felt great joy at the thought of his Saviour, 
and so did all his family. Though Paul was 
very happy in the jailer's house, he wanted 
to go and preach in other towns in Mace- 
donia. Would God deliver him and set him 
free? 

The morning after the terrible earthquake, 
some men came to the prison with a message. 
They asked to see the jailer, and they said 
to him, The judges desire you to let these 
two men go. 

The Judges Alarmed. 

The jailer must have been surprised to 
hear this message, for he remembered that 
the judges had said to him the night before, 
Keep these men safely. What caused this 
change? Probably the judges had been 
frightened in the night by the earthquake. 

The heathen thought that earthquakes 
showed the anger of their gods. These 
judges remembered how unjustly they had 
treated the apostles ; and they hoped, if they 
set them free, they should not be punished 
by their gods, nor by the emperor of Rome. 

The jailer went and gave the message to 
Paul. He said, The judges direct me to let 
you go. So depart, and go in peace. 

But Paul would not go. He said, I am a 
Roman. What did Paul mean by that? 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



505 



Was he not a Jew, born at Tarsus, not in 
Rome? Yes; but there were other men 
called Romans. It was a favor that the 
great emperor at Rome gave to some men 
as a reward ; for if a man was called a 
Roman, no judge could condemn him, unless 
he first proved him to be guilty, and unless 
witnesses proved that he deserved punish- 
ment. All our people enjoy this privilege, 
but the heathen had no such privilege unless 
they were Romans. 

Out of Prison. 

The judges had condemned Paul and Silas 
without any trial, and the great Caesar at 
Rome might have punished the judges for 
their behavior. So Paul sent back this mes- 
sage : Let the judges come themselves and 
fetch us out. 

So the messengers went back to the judges 
and said, Those prisoners are Romans, and 
they say that you have beaten them openly, 
and that you must now come and fetch them 
out yourselves. 

Then the judges were frightened lest they 
should get into disgrace at Rome. They 
did not like going themselves to the prison, 
but to avoid disgrace they went. 

How strange it must have looked to see 
these judges in their handsome dresses, beg- 
ging the two prisoners in their poor garments 
to come out of the prison ! They begged 
them not only to come out of the prison, but 
to leave the city as soon as they could. 

The prisoners left the prison with marks 
of cruel stripes on their backs, but with 
hearts full of joy to think that the jailer had 
turned to God. 

Where did they first go? To the house 
where they had been staying before their 
beating and imprisonment. They went to 
the house of Lydia. There they found 
Luke and Timothy. How much grief all 



those friends must have felt the whole night 
long! But joy had come in the morning. 

All the Christians in the town came to see 
Paul and Silas, and to hear about their im- 
prisonment. It was sad news for them to 
hear that Paul and Silas must leave them ; 
but then Luke and Timothy were to stay be- 
hind, and this must have been a great com- 
fort. 

Paul and Silas set out on their journey 
with the stripes still fresh upon their backs.. 
In this state they travelled nearly a hundred 
miles. 

A good road led to the largest city in 
Macedonia — Thessalonica. It was once built 
by a great general, who called it after the 
name of his wife, Thessalonica. The apos- 
tles must have been three days on their way. 

When they arrived they found themselves 
in a grand city. It was close by the sea, and 
ships from distant countries brought many 
fine things to the shore. The shops were full 
of gay clothing, handsome furniture, and pre- 
cious jewels. 

Paul Works at His Trade. 

There was also a synagogue in the city. 
Paul and Silas went there on the Sabbath, 
and tried to show the Jews that all the 
prophets had spoken of Jesus before he 
came into the world. 

A few of the Jews believed, and they were 
very kind to Paul and Silas. A great many 
Gentiles turned from idols, and became the 
servants of God. Paul often went to the 
houses of the Christians, and taught them 
more about Jesus. 

But he had hard work to get bread; for he 
did not like to ask for anything, as it would 
seem as if he preached for the sake of money. 
But he had been taught a trade when he was 
a boy. All young Jews were taught to make 
something when they were young, even those 



506 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



who had rich parents, for they could not tell 
how soon they might become poor. 

Paul knew how to weave goats' hair into 
cloth fit for tents. In the evening Paul and 
Silas would begin their work, and sit up very 
late, that they might earn enough to buy food 
for the next day. They worked in the day- 
time also, when they had time. 

But they could hardly earn enough, and 
so they were very thankful when a kind 
friend came from Philippi with a present for 
them. Perhaps it was Lydia sent the present, 
or it might be the jailer. Very likely it was 
Timothy who brought it, for he soon came 
after Paul, though Luke did not come yet. 

There were many spiteful, envious Jews at 
Thessalonica. They were so angry with Paul 
and Silas that they got a great number of bad 
men to come with them to seize the apostles. 
They heard that Paul and Silas were in the 
house of a good man named Jason. They 
came to his house, making a great noise, and 
they tried to break in. 

They are Sent Away by Night. 

Jason heard the noise, and he hid Paul and 
Silas. So when the riotous mob rushed into 
the house, Paul and Silas could not be found. 
Then the fierce fellows seized Jason and his 
friends, and brought them to the judges. 

But this good Jason was not punished, for 
the judges let him go. 

When he went home, Jason and his friends 
agreed together that it would be best to send 
away Paul and Silas that night. They were 
very sorry to part with them, but they feared 
lest the wicked people would murder the apos- 
tles if they stayed. 

That very night Paul and Silas set out in 
the dark, intending to go to a quiet little 
town among the fruitful hills. We do not 
know whether Timothy went with them, or 
whether he followed them afterwards. The 



apostles, as they walked, thought of the dear 
Christians in Thessalonica, and prayed that 
they might one day see them again. 

Paul and Silas had to go nearly fifty miles 
before they reached the quiet city among the 
fruitful hills. They could not walk so far in 
one night. 

What the Books Said. 

The name of the town was Berea. It was 
a lovely place, built on the side of a hill, 
among gardens, streams, and groves. It was 
not a place often visited by travellers, nor 
were there many rich people in it. 

There was a synagogue in Berea. Paul 
and Silas went to it on the Sabbath. They 
must have expected to be scoffed at and con- 
tradicted ; but these Jews were quite different 
from the Jews at Thessalonica. They 
listened to the preaching about Jesus, and 
they looked in the books of the old prophets 
to see what was written in them about Jesus. 

They found all was true that the apostles 
told them. In one of the books they saw it 
was written that Jesus would be born in 
Bethlehem ; in another book, that he was 
led as a lamb to the slaughter. Then Paul 
told them that such a lamb was Jesus, when 
he was crucified for our sins. 

Then many of the Jews of Berea believed 
in Jesus. Many of the Gentiles also believed. 
The apostles must have felt very happy 
among these believers ; but they soon were 
made sorrowful. 

The wicked Jews of Thessalonica heard 
that Paul was preaching at Berea. They 
came over the hills to Berea, for they did 
not care for a journey of fifty miles, if they 
could only hurt Paul. When they reached 
Berea, they tried to set the people against the 
apostles. 

The kind Christians of Berea were so 
much afraid of these wicked men, that they 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY, 
thought it best to send Paul quite away. 
Silas and Timothy were to remain at Berea, 
and Paul was to go away secretly, for fear 
any other wicked Jews should seize him by 
tlie way. 

It was very sad for Paul to leave his two 
dear companions behind, but it was better for 
:he Bereans that Silas and Timothy should 



507 



vei 



Silas and Timothy: Come to me 
quickly. 

Paul determined to wait at Athens til] 
they came, for he did not like to be sepa- 
rated long from his dear companions, though 
he was glad to think they were teaching the 
new believers at Berea. Timothy had him- 
self been taught when a child to know the 
Scriptures, and he could help the Bereans to 




ANCIENT SHIPS. 



Could Paul go quite alone upon his jour- 
ney ? Oh no. The kind Bereans would not 
let him go alone. Some of them went with 
him to the seashore, about ten miles off. 
There they found a ship ready to sail. His 
kind friends went in the ship with him. They 
all made a long voyage, and after many 
days arrived at Athens, a very grand city. 
Then Paul parted from his Berean friends, 
and he gave them this message to deliver to 



understand what the prophets had written 
about Jesus. 

Paul found himself alone at Athens. This 
was the first time he had been alone since he 
had begun this missionary journey. Athens 
was in Greece. Paul had now left Macedonia, 
and had entered Greece, often called Achaia! 

There was a great deal to be seen in Athens. 
It was the most famous city of Greece. There 
never was a city with so many beautiful statues, 



60S 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



pictures, temples and altars. Was Paul pleased 
at beholding them? No; he was filled with 
grief, for most of the statues were the images 
of false gods, and all the temples were the 
houses of idols. 

There was indeed one synagogue where 
the true God was worshipped, but no place 
where Jesus was honored as the son of God. 
Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. 
In the week he went to the grand market- 
place. 

Sermon on Mars' Hill. 

There were many wise heathens in Athens, 
who were always in the market-place, talking 
and teaching, under the shade of trees and 
marble colonnades. Paul went there to talk 
with them and to teach them about Jesus. 
These pretended wise men laughed at Paul, 
and called him a babbler, or prating fool. 
Some were offended, and said, He wants to 
set up new gods. 

But at last they proposed a plan which 
pleased Paul very much. These Athenians 
were fond of hearing new things, so they 
thought they should like to hear Paul preach 
about the new things he told them. They 
led him up a hill in the city, where the 
Judges often sat to give judgment. There 
were stone seats for the judges. There was 
a very fine temple on the hill, where Mars, 
the god of war, was worshipped. 

Paul stood up on Mars' Hill to speak of 
the Prince of Peace. He spoke first of the 
one true God, who made all things, and of 
the sin of worshipping idols. He said God 
commanded them to repent, and that he 
would judge the world one day by the Man 
whom he had raised from the dead. Christ 
was the man that Paul meant. 

This is what he said: Ye men of Athens, 
X perceive that in all things ye are too super- 
stitious. For as I passed by, and beheld 



your devotions, I found an altar with thh 
inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom 
therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare 
I unto you. 

God that made the world and all things 
therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and 
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with 
hands; neither is worshipped with men's 
hands, as though he needed any thing, see- 
ing he giveth to all life, and breath, and al" 
things; and hath made of one blood alt 
nations of men fcr to dwell on all the face 
of the earth, and hath determined the times 
before appointed, and the bounds of their 
habitation; that they should seek the Lord, 
if haply they might feel after him, and find 
him, though he be not far from every one of 
us : for in him we live, and move, and have 
our being; as certain also of your own poets 
have said, For we are also his offspring. 

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of 
God, we ought not to think that the God- 
head is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, 
graven by art and man's device. 

And the times of this ignorance God 
winked at; but now commandeth all men 
every where to repent : because he hath ap- 
pointed a day, in the which he will judge the 
world in righteousness by that man whom he 
hath ordained ; whereof he hath given assur- 
ance unto all men, in that he hath raised him 
from the dead. 

Many Scoffers. 

When the Athenians heard of the resur- 
rection, some began to laugh. Others, whe 
did not mock, said, We will hear about this 
another day. But there were a few whe 
really believed in Jesus. One of them was a 
wise and great man, even a judge. Another 
was a lady. 

The Lord showed Paul when he ought 
to leave a city and where he ought to go 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



503 



Paul did not stay long among the scoffers of 
Athens ; for he could do more good in other 
cities. He set out on his journey, meaning 
to go to a very large city about fifty miles off. 

His way lay by the seacoast. There was 
the great sea on each side of him, as he trav- 
elled alone to Corinth. 

Corinth was a far richer city than Athens. 



In Corinth there were many gluttons and 
drunkards, many disorderly people, and 
many vain, foolish women ; but there were 
not as many learned people, or as many 
scoffers, as in Athens. 

When Paul arrived there he looked out 
for a lodging. He found two people who 
were tent-makers, as he was. He thought 




PAUL PREACHING ON MARS HILL. 



It was now the capitol of Greece. The chief 
pleasure in Athens was to talk about new 
things; but the chief pleasure at Corinth was 
to feast and dance and play at games. Once 
in three years people came from far countries 
to Corinth to see the games. At these games 
men ran races, and wrestled together, and 



and threw spears, 
leaped over fences. 



and hurled stones, and 



it would be convenient to live with those ol 
the same trade as himself. These two 
people were travellers like Paul, and they 
were also of the same nation. Aquila wa3 
a Jew, and his wife Priscilla was a Jewess. 
Paul sat with them and wove his goats' hair 
into coarse cloth, close by their sides. As 
they worked they talked. 

Aquila and Priscilla had not believed in 



510 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



Jesus crucified for their sins till Paul told 
them the wonderful story. But when they 
did hear about him they believed in him, 
and they tried to please him in everything. 

Every Sabbath Paul went to the syna- 
gogue and showed that Jesus was the Christ 
—the promised Saviour. Aquila and Pris- 
cilla heard Paul preach in the synagogue, 
and they listened very earnestly. 

One day Paul had the delight of seeing 
again his dearest friends, Silas and Timothy. 
They were just come from Macedonia. Per- 
haps you wonder they had not come to 
Paul while he was at Athens. They did 
come while Paul was at Athens, but he had 
sent them back to Macedonia, and now they 
came to Corinth. 

Good News from Macedonia. 

It was not their fault that they had not 
come sooner. Paul had written to them to 
bid them teach the new Christians at Thes- 
salonica and other places, as he was afraid 
the new Christians might turn back to Satan. 

How glad he was to see his dear son 
Timothy again ! He was more glad when 
he heard good accounts of the believers in 
Macedonia. He sat down one night, and 
instead of working at his loom and weaving 
the goats' hair, he took his pen and began 
to write on parchment a letter to the believers 
at Thessalonica. The letter is in the Bible, 
and is called The First Epistle of Paul to the 
Thessalonians. There were no postmen in 
those days to take letters, and Paul sent it 
by the hand of the first faithful messenger 
he could find. 

After this time Paul wrote a great many 
letters, and some of them we can read in our 
Bibles. He did not write all these letters 
with his own hand ; for it is very likely that 
his eyes were so weak that he asked his 
friends to write for him. 



At the time that Silas and Timothy 
arrived the apostle was in want of food. 
Though he worked so hard he could not 
earn enough to support him, for there was a 
famine in the land, and the price of food was 
six times as much as usual. 

Presents from Philippi. 

But did not the Corinthians give him 
anything ? Paul would not accept any pres- 
ents from them, because he knew they would 
be ready to say he preached in order to get 
money, 

Silas and Timothy brought in their hands 
presents from Philippi — perhaps from Lydia 
and the jailer. 

The Philippians were the most generous 
of all the people to whom Paul preached, 
and they were the only people who sent him 
presents in his distress. Paul was very 
grateful for their kindness. 

You have heard that Paul was much com- 
forted by the arrival of Silas and Timothy^ 
He was more earnest than ever to preach 
Jesus in the synagogue. But he could only 
persuade a few Jews to believe on him as the 
Son of God. 

Most of the Jews grew more and more 
angry. At last Paul shook his clothes in 
their sight, and said, that if they perished he 
was clear of their blood. From this time he 
would go to the Gentiles. So he went no more 
to the synagogue, but he did not leave the 
city. All that believed in Jesus came to 
hear Paul in a house close by. This house 
belonged to a good man named Justus. 

Among the believers who came to this 
house was the chief ruler of the synagogue, a 
man named Crispus. Who would have ex- 
pected that the chief ruler of the synagogue 
should believe? All the family of Crispus 
believed, as well as himself, and they were all 
baptized by Paul. 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



511 



A great many more people believed and 
were baptized. Soon there was quite a large 
congregation meeting in the house of Justus. 
But the unbelieving Jews were enraged at 
seeing so many believe, and Paul feared he 
should be seized, and beaten and imprisoned. 

However at night he had a dream that 
cheered him much. The Lord appeared to 
him, and said, Be not afraid, but speak, and 
do not be silent ; for I am with thee, and no 
man shall set on thee to hurt thee : for I 
have much people in this city. 

Now Paul knew that many people would 
turn to the Lord, and that no one would hurt 
him. He stayed in Corinth a year and a 
half, and went on teaching the Gospel. 

At this time a new governor came to Cor- 
inth. His name was GalMo. The Jews seized 
Paul and dragged him before the governor. 
What has he done ? asked Gallio. The Jews 
replied, he has been teaching us to worship 
God in a wrong way. 

Paul was just going to open his mouth to 
defend himself, when Gallio cried out, If this 
man had done anything wicked I would 
have judged him, but as it is only about 
what he says, I will not hear you. The Jews 
did not like this answer, and wanted to speak 
more. But Gallio drove them out. Go 
away ! go away ! said he. So Paul was set 
free. In this way God kept his promise 
that no one should hurt him. 

A Splendid City. 

After a good while, Paul said he should 
leave Corinth. He could not always stay in 
one place, as he must preach the Gospel to 
many heathen nations. Priscilla and Aquila 
also wanted to go away. The five friends 
agreed to sail in the ship. 

The first place the ship stopped at was 
Cenchrea. Paul landed there to have his 
hair and beard shorn, for he had made the 



Nazarite's vow a month before. That vow 
was not to drink wine, nor to be shorn, for a 
month. He made the vow when delivered 
from the Jews at Gallio's judgement-seat 
He wished to show the Jews that he kept 
their customs, though he trusted in Jesus foi 
salvation. 

There was a good woman at Cenchrea, 
named Phebe, who received him, and was 
kind to him while at Cenchrea. She was 
ready to help all the Christians she saw. 

Then Paul returned to the ship and 
crossed the sea, till he came to Asia. He 
stopped near a fine city called Ephesus. It 
was the grandest city in all Asia, with the 
most splendid temple ever built in honor of 
an idol. At this grand city Priscilla and 
Aquila said they must stay and live. Paul 
and his other companions just landed and 
rested there for a few days. 

He Promises to Return. 

Paul preached in the . ■ nagogue. The 
Jews liked what he said so much that they 
begged him to stay, but Paul told them he 
could not, as he was hastening to Jerusalem 
to keep one of the holy feasts. But, said 
Paul, I will return to you if God will. So, 
bidding farewell to Priscilla and Aquila, and 
the kind Ephesians, Paul and his companions 
set sail again. 

He landed at Caesarea, and went up to 
Jerusalem. He saw his friends there, and 
worshipped the Lord in his holy city. It 
must have been delightful to relate his won- 
derful history to any apostles who were 
there. But he did not stay long; he 
hastened back to Antioch in Syria, the 
city from which he had set out several years 
ago. 

Thus ended his second missionary journey 
It had been indeed a blessed journey, for 
thousands of heathens had turned to God 




HALL OP PILLARS — RUINS OF KARNAK, EGYPT. 



PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 



513 



In this journey the Gospel was first preached 
in Europe, for Macedonia and Greece ar~ in 
Europe. 

Story of Apollos. 

Leaving Paul at Antioch in Syria, let us 
go back to Ephesus in Asia. 

Soon after Paul left Ephesus, a new 
preacher appeared at the synagogue. He 
was a Jew, born in Egypt, who travelled 
about, and was just come from Rome. It 
was remarkable that a man so strong in the 
faith and so earnest in his preaching should 
come from such a place. The people in 
Egypt worshipped all sorts of idols. Some 
of these were animals, and others were the 
most disgusting reptiles. 

At the same time Egypt had many beau- 
tiful temples and other buildings. These 
were very large, had tall and massive pillars, 
and were covered with inscriptions and 
figures, which told the story of events long 
past, or described the idols that were wor- 
shipped. One of the famous cities of 
ancient Egypt was Thebes. On the site of 
this city, which is now called Karnak, are 
some of the most remarkable ruins in the 
world. Here is the Hall of Pillars, which 
consists of two rows of immense columns 
standing side by side. 

The new preacher who was making a stir 
at Ephesus had heard of the Jewish religion 
and believed it, although all around him 
were people who were ignorant of the true 
faith. Aquila and Priscilla listened to him, 
and were much struck, for he was very 
eloquent ; that is, he spoke in beautiful 
language, and very earnestly. He knew the 
Old Testament well ; he could refer to the 
prophecies and explain their meaning. 

He knew even more than this, (for many 
Jews knew the Old Testament ;) he knew 
the preaching of John the Baptist, what he 
33 



said about repentance, and about baptism, 
and the coming of Jesus : but here he 
stoppco. He knew not that Jesus had been 
crucified, and risen again, and had sent down 
the Holy Ghost upon believers. 

Aquila and Priscilla listened attentively 
and they were sorry to find Apollos did not 
know about Christ; so they got him to come 
to them, and they told him all about his sac- 
rifice for our sins. How did they know about 
these things ? Paul had instructed them while 
they were sitting weaving together. 

The Gospel in Greece. 

This preacher's name was Apollos. You 
see he was a very humble man, for he was 
willing to listen, even to a woman, when he 
found Priscilla could teach him about Christ. 

He wished very much to go into Greece, 
that he might preach in the synagogues, for 
whenever he preached many came to hear 
him on account of his eloquence. But he was 
afraid the brethren in Greece would not know 
he was a Christian, and would not receive him. 

Aquila, Priscilla, and others, said they 
would write letters to the Christians they 
knew in Greece. In these letters they said 
Apollos was a good man, and knew about 
Christ ; and they said, Pray receive and listen 
to him. 

So Apollos took these letters and showed 
them to the Christians in Greece, and then he 
preached in the synagogues. The believers 
were much comforted by all he said. When 
he preached he showed the Jews what the 
prophets had said about Jesus in the Scrip- 
tures ; and he convinced a great many. 

The chief cities in Greece or Achaia were 
Corinth and Athens. The first city in Greece 
where Apollos preached was Corinth. He 
heard at Corinth a great deal about Paul, but 
he had not yet seen him, for Paul was still at 
Antioch in Syria. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Journey through Little Asia — At Ephesus and Corinth — Wizzards and Deceivers— 
Diana's Gorgeous Temple — Wild Uproar at Ephesus — The Apostle Travels in 
Greece — Story of Eutychus — A Sad Parting — The Gospel at Tyre — Paul at 
Jerusalem — A Furious Mob — Paul Bound with Chains — Scene before the Council 
— An Infamous Plot — Paul Finds Friends in His Danger. 




UITE ready now was Paul for 
another missionary journey, al- 
though he had made two al- 
ready — the first when he set 
out with Barnabas and Mark, 
and the second when he set 
out with Silas. From both these journeys 
he had returned safely, after suffering many 
afflictions. He spent some time at Antioch 
with the brethren, and then set out again. 
Whom did he take with him on this third 
journey ? 

One of his companions was a young man 
named Titus. He was a Greek. His native 
city was Corinth, the Capital of Greece, or 
Achaia. Paul loved Titus much, and called 
him his son. It seems he loved Timothy 
still more, for he called him his dearly-be- 
loved son. We are not sure whether Timothy 
set out on this journey with Paul. Silas was 
left behind at Jerusalem, as we think. Some 
Macedonians may have accompanied him, 
but we are not sure of their names. 

Where did Paul and Titus go ? They 
went through Little Asia. This Little Asia 
was divided into Provinces. One was called 
Cilicia. Tarsus was in Cilicia. There Paul 
was born ; his relations lived there. It is 
probable Paul visited his native city. 

He went afterwards into a province called 
Galatia. It was a wild, but warm-hearted 
people who lived in it. Paul had visited 
514 



Galatia some years before. The people were 
very fond of Paul at first, till false teachers 
came and set them against him for a time. 

But they readily granted Paul's request. 
What was it? He had promised the breth- 
ren that he would collect money for the poor 
saints in Jerusalem who were in great dis- 
tress. You remember there was a famine in 
most lands, and besides the famine there were 
persecutions at Jerusalem ; so the poor saints 
were often in great distress. 

Meeting Old Friends. 

When Paul left Galatia he went to other 
parts of Asia, and visited Lystra, which was 
dear to him as Timothy's birthplace. We 
know not whether Timothy's pious mother, 
Eunice, was still living. 

Paul went through the province of Phrygia, 
and then went down towards the great city of 
Ephesus. When he had landed there on his 
last journey he had promised to return soon, 
and now he had come ; not by sea, as before, 
but by land. He found there many believers, 
and among them Aquila and Priscilla, his old 
friends, whom he had left there at his last visit. 

It was a great joy to meet them again : 
Paul could sit with them as he used, and 
weave goats' hair into cloth for tents. Thus 
he earned bread for himself and his com- 
panions, and he gave to the poor all he 
could spare. 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY 



515 



Timothy was now with him, and Titus was 
with him still, and the believers who had fol- 
lowed him from Macedonia. Very happy 
was this party of Christians. In the evening, 
while they wove cloth, they would talk about 
the labors of the day, and praise God for the 
blessing he gave to their words. 

Twelve Ignorant Men. 

When Paul arrived at Ephesus, he did not 
find Apollos there. That eloquent preacher 
had gone to Corinth a long while before, and 
was still there. It must have disappointed 
Paul not to see him. 

But there were twelve men at Ephesus, 
very much like Apollos in not knowing about 
Jesus, but they had not met with any such 
teachers as Apollos had found. Why had 
not Aquila and Priscilla taught them ? Per- 
haps these twelve men had not preached, and 
so their ignorance had not been seen. 

Paul began to talk to these twelve men. 
He found they believed in the true God, and 
in the Old Testament, and in the preaching 
of John the Baptist — but that was all. They 
did not know about the resurrection of Jesus. 
Paul said to them, Have ye received the 
Holy Ghost since ye believed ? They re- 
plied, We never heard of the Holy Ghost. 

Perhaps they meant that they had never 
heard of the Holy Ghost being given at 
Pentecost. Unto what, then, were you bap- 
tized ? inquired Paul. We are baptized unto 
John's baptism, answered the twelve. Paul 
then said, John verily baptized with the 
baptism of repentance, telling the people 
they should believe on him who should 
come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 
When they heard this they were baptized in 
the name of the Lord Jesus. 

Thus these men were twice baptized. 
Afterwards Paul laid his hands on them. 
Then the Holy Ghost was given to them, 



and they began to speak with other tongues 
and to prophesy. You remember that none 
but apostles could bestow these wonderful 
gifts. 

Then Paul appeared again in the syna- 
gogue. Those who liked to hear Paul 
preach, when he paid his first short visrt 5 
must have been glad to see him enter the 
synagogue again. But they liked him less 
when they heard him boldly declare Jesus to 
be the only Saviour. They contradicted 
him, and made objections to all he said. 

Paul went on preaching there for three 
months. At last he could not go any more 
to the synagogue, for the Jews tried to set 
the people against the way of salvation by 
Jesus. 

When Paul departed from the synagogue, 
a man, named Tyrannus, lent him a large 
room, in which wise men used to give 
lectures about worldly knowledge. Perhaps 
this Tyrannus was converted, but we know 
not his motive for lending this room. Pciul 
invited people to come there every day to be 
taught ; and many came. 

A Wonderful Touch. 

This teaching went on for two years, and 
all that lived at Ephesus, and in other cities, 
could hear the word of the Lord Jesus — 
Jews as well as Greeks. 

And God enabled Paul to do very great 
miracles. Not only did he cure sick people 
when he saw them, and touched them, and 
spake to them, but he did still more. If 
Paul touched a handkerchief or apron, and 
it was brought to a sick person, he was 
made well by touching it ; or, if he had an 
evil spirit, the poor creature was delivered 
from it. Just as people who had fevers and 
plagues give their, diseases to others, if 
healthy people touch clothes they hav^ 
toucned ; so the body of this aaostle couki 



516 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



give health to the sick and afflicted, by- 
clothes he had touched being sent to them. 
It was Christ's promise that his apostles 
could do greater works than he had done. 

At last Paul had the comfort and delight 
of seeing Apollos. He had heard much of 
him, and now he saw that eloquent man and 
Messed preacher. Apollos came to Ephesus 
while Paul was still there. He had just 
.;ome from Corinth, the capital of Greece. 
He had a great deal to tell Paul about the 
Corinthians — some good, but more evil. 

Paul was made so uneasy by hearing of 
their sins, that he went over the sea that he 
*night reprove the offenders. 

Wicked People at Corinth. 

He stayed at Corinth a very short time, 
and was much grieved to find that Apollos' 
account was only too true. There were 
many there very fond of Apollos, who said, 
T am of Apollos ; many others said, I am of 
Paul ; yet they did not follow what Apollos 
taught or what Paul taught. 

Paul soon returned to Ephesus. He 
thought it would be best to send some good 
men to Corinth, that they might bring the 
Corinthians to repentance. He fixed upon 
Timothy as one messenger, and on Erastus 
as another, a man born in Corinth. He told 
them to go round by Macedonia, and to 
collect money for the poor saints in Jeru- 
salem as they passed through Philippi, 
Thessalonica and Berea. 

While the messengers were absent Paul 
wrote a letter to the Corinthians. He wrote 
it with many tears, flowing from the anguish 
of his heart. This pain was worse to him 
than all the labor of his hands to earn bread. 

When he had finished his very long letter 
he sent it by Titus, who was a native of 
Corinth. Titus was afraid lest he should be 
ill-received by the sinful Christians at Corinth. 



But Titus obeyed Paul's wishes, and went 
with a companion to Corinth. He took 
Trophimus as his companion. 

When Titus arrived at Corinth he was 
received most affectionately. The Corinth- 
ians were quite penitent, and ready to obey 
Titus in everything. Paul's letter was read 
to them, and it made a great impression ; for 
the Corinthians attended more to what Paul 
wrote than to what he spoke, for he was not 
a fine speaker, nor was he grand-looking. 

Titus did not soon come back to Ephesus. 
Paul continued to feel great anxiety about 
the Corinthians, and kept longing for Titus* 
return. 

As Athens was famous for learning, as 
Corinth was famous for games, so Ephesus 
was for sorcery. The city of Ephesus 
was full of deceivers. The devil had great 
power in Ephesus, and enabled people to 
deceive others by their pretended wonders. 

These deceivers were called sorcerers, or 
conjurers, or wizzards, or magicians, or 
charmers, or exorcists. These names all 
mean nearly the same thing. 

One Against Seven. 

When these sorcerers heard of Paul's 
miracles, they tried to do miracles of their 
own. There was one old man named Sceva. 
He was a Jew, and he was a chief priest. 
He had seven sons, and he ought to have 
brought them all up to serve the God of 
Israel. 

But these seven sons served the devil, 
They wanted to do the same miracles thai 
Paul did, without believing in Jesus. 

There was a man who had a very fierce, 
evil spirit. The seven brothers went to his 
house to cast out the evil spirit. They stood 
over him, and said, I command thee by Jesus 
whom Paul preaches to come out of him. 
The evil spirit, instead of coming out of the 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



517 



man, made this terrible answer, Jesus I know, 
and Paul I know; but who are you ? 

Having said this, the man jumped up sud- 
denly, seized hold of the brothers, struggled 
with them all seven, tore their clothes and 
bruised their bodies, and conquered them all; 
so that the frightened brothers ran from the 
house with hardly any clothes, and many 
bleeding wounds. 

This overthrow of the sorcerers was much 
talked of by the people of Ephesus ; and it 
made many praise the Lord Jesus by whom 
Paul did such real wonders. 

There were many other sorcerers in Ephe- 
sus, who came to Paul and confessed the 
wicked tricks they had played through 
Satan ; and they brought their books about 
their charms and burned them in the streets 
before all the people. They would not sell 
the books because they were wicked books. 
They might have got fifty thousand pieces of 
silver for them if they had sold them, but they 
loved Jesus more than silver. 

Many more people believed in Jesus when 
they saw the burning of the books. 

A Magnificent Temple. 

In the city of Ephesus there was an im- 
mense and beautiful temple, the finest idol 
temple in the world. It was built of white 
marble, and it was surrounded by green 
marble pillars. But to whose honor was it 
built? 

To the honor of an ugly idol called Diana. 
There were many beautiful statues called 
Diana; but this idol was a mere block of 
wood, with something like a head at the top, 
and short arms at the sides, leaning on two 
iron sticks to keep it from falling. This block 
was adorned with a splendid crown and girdle, 
and carefully preserved behind a rich curtain, 
in a kind of little temple in the midst of the 
great temple. The priests who waited on the 



idol taught the people that it came down from 
heaven . 

People came from all countries to worship 
Diana and to join in her riotous feasts, and 
they used to carry little shrines to their chil- 
dren at home as a remembrance of her. 
These shrines were made of silver, anc. .vere 
like little temples with the idol inside. 

There was a man named Demetrius ; he 
had grown rich by making these silver 
shrines. He found that people did not buy 
so many as they used. He knew that Paul 
had turned multitudes from the worship of 
idols. This made him very angry, for he 
felt that he should not get much money by 
his shrines. 

The Uproar at Ephesus. 

He wished to stop Paul from preaching. 
The way he took was to call together all 
the silversmiths in the place and to make 
them a speech. In his speech he told them 
that Paul was turning every one away from 
their great goddess Diana, and that soon 
they would have no more shrines to make. 

The silversmiths were so much enraged 
that they began to cry out with all their 
might, Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! 

The people in the city heard the cry, and 
seized two of Paul's companions, called 
Gaius and Aristarchus. The people then 
dragged them into a large place called a 
theatre. Paul heard the uproar, and wanted 
to go into the theatre after his companions, 
but the Christians in Ephesus would not let 
him go in, lest he should be torn to pieces. 

It was one of the amusements in this the~ 
atre to see wild beasts tear each other to 
pieces. Who could say what those fierce 
men might do to Paul ? For two hours the 
people continued to cry out, Great is Diana 
of the Ephesians ! At last a chief man of 
I the city rose up and spoke. 




518 DEMFTRIUS RAISING AN UPROAR AT EPHESUS AGAINST PAUL- 



PAUL'S THIRD juJRNEY. 



51*> 



The riotous bawlers stopped when they 
saw him. He spoke to them very wisely, 
and advised them to be quiet, and to go 
home. 

What a comfort it was when this uproar 
ceased ! Those two friends, Gaius and Aris- 
tarchus, who had been dragged into the the- 
atre, had not been torn to pieces by the 
furious mob ! This was God's deliverance of 
his own servants from men more cruel than 
wild beasts. 

I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, said 
Paul to the Christians at Corinth. 

Paul Takes His Departure. 

After the uproar was over at Ephesus, 
Paul prepared to leave the place, for it was 
dangerous to remain. He called all the be- 
lievers together, and took leave of them with 
much affection. He had been much shaken 
by the uproar, and had almost died from 
fear and trembling. 

Then he set out with his own campan- 
ions. Their names are not mentioned in the 
Scriptures. Timothy was not one of them, 
for he was gone on before to the very coun- 
try where Paul was now going. What was 
that country? The country to which the 
man in the dream had called him long ago 
— Macedonia. 

On the way to Macedonia, Paul went to 
Troas, hoping there to meet Titus. Day 
after day he waited there, but he was cast 
down by Titus not arriving. Why was he 
so anxious? He wanted to know whether 
the Corinthians had minded the letter he had 
sent by Titus. He feared lest they were go- 
ing on in their sinful ways. 

Weary of waiting for Titus at Troas, Paul 
set out for Macedonia, hoping to meet him 
there. He went to that city of Macedonia 
where he had first preached the Gospel — 
Philippi. There he saw friends who had 



often sent him presents in his distress. 
Lydia may have been one of those friends, 
and the jailer another. 

But he did not find Titus there. At last 
the much-longed-for one came. After Paul 
had been waiting some time, Titus arrived 
with most joyful news. The Corinthians had 
repented. So Paul wrote them a comforting 
letter, and sent it by the hands of Titus. 
That young minister's heart now burned 
with affection for the Corinthians, and he 
gladly went back to Corinth with Paul's 
letter of forgiveness. 

Paul now travelled about Greece, and to 
other countries beyond, still collecting for 
the saints at Jerusalem. He was accom- 
panied by many brethren. At length he 
determined to visit Jerusalem, and he set 
sail, with many companions, and landed at 
Troas, on the way to Jerusalem. 

There were eight brethren now assembled 
with Paul at Troas (among them were Luke 
and Timothy). Paul spent a week at Troas, 

The last day of his stay was the Sabbath. 

On that evening all the Christians met 
together in an upper chamber on the third 
floor. There were many lights in it. A 
young man, named Eutychus, sat near a 
large window that was open. Paul preached 
a great while, even till midnight, and the 
young man fell asleep. In his sleep he fell 
out of the window. 

The Young Man is Alive. 

The little congregation saw him fall, and 
they rushed down the stairs outside, going 
through the window. Paul stopped preach* 
ing, and went down also. All the Christians 
were much grieved to find the youth lying 
dead upon the ground. 

But Paul stretched himself over the body, 
and held it in his arms, and said to the weep- 
ing friends, Do not be grieved, for his life 



520 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



is in him. The young man was indeed 
alive, and his friends were comforted. They 
all went up again with Paul. 

It was now past midnight. During the 
dark hours of the morning the happy 
Christians broke bread, in remembrance of 
their crucified Lord ; and they talked about 
him a long while. When the beams of the 
rising sun shone upon them, Paul and his 
eight companions took leave of the fellow- 
Christians, and left Troas. The eight com- 
panions went down to the ship and set sail, 
but Paul preferred walking alone. 

Paul's companions got into a ship, while 
Paul himself walked across the land about 
twenty miles. The way was through groves 
of oak-trees, which shaded the apostle from 
the sun, while the little birds on this spring 
day filled the air with their warblings. 

He Sails Away in a Ship. 

Why did Paul wish to go this days 
journey all alone ? How gladly would 
Luke, or Timothy, or any of the brethren, 
have walked with him ! No doubt he 
wished to speak as he went along to his 
Father in heaven. Had not his God that 
very night enabled him to revive the dead ? 

He found the ship at the place he had 
fixed upon. The place was Assos. He got 
into the ship, and he sailed away in it. 

As the ship did not belong to Paul he 
could not make it stop where he pleased. 
Though he would have liked to have the 
ship stop at Ephesus, yet for some reasons 
he was glad that it sailed past the great city, 
and stopped at Miletus. 

When Paul heard that the ship would 
stay some time at that place, he sent a mes- 
sage to Ephesus to ask the elders of the 
church to come and see him. The messen- 
gers had thirty miles to go. But these 
Ephesians loved Paul so much that they 



quickly came to him. They saw again 
their beloved apostle, and they saw also 
two of their own countrymen who had 
travelled with him by sea and land, 
named Tychicus and Trophimus. Paul 
spoke to them in a most affectionate manner. 
He told them he was going to Jerusalem, 
and that he knew he should be put in 
prison. But, said he, I am ready to give up 
my life for Jesus. Then he said, I know that 
you shall see my face no more. 

A Sad Farewell. 

He reminded them how he had taught 
them night and day for three years, and how 
with his own hands he had earned his bread. 
Then he kneeled down ?jid prayed with 
them all. They all wept very bitterly, and 
fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. What 
grieved them most was Paul's raying that 
they should see his face no more. Their 
love to him was very great. They would 
not leave him, till they saw him get into the 
ship and sail away. They had a long 
journey home, and they must have shed 
many tears by the way. 

Neither count I my life dear unto myself, 
so that I might finish my course with joy, 
was one of the sayings of this remarkable 
man. 

Paul went sailing on, first in one ship and 
then in another, till he came to the city of 
Tyre. That city is just above the land of 
Canaan, and from it a poor woman once 
came to ask mercy of the Lord Jesus when 
on earth. 

The ship stopped here to unload, for it 
was filled with good things for the people of 
Tyre to buy. We do not know for certain 
what they were; very likely sacks of whent 
and barrels of wine, from the fruitful fields 
of Asia. 

Paul and his companions landed, and spent 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



521 



seven days with the Christians of Tyre. 
That woman who had so much faith in 
Jesus must often have talked of her beloved 
Lord, but perhaps she was dead now. 

Among the Christians of Tyre there were 
some prophets, and they told Paul that if he 
went up to Jerusalem he would have much 
sorrow ; but Paul would go, for he was ready 
to suffer for Jesus' sake. 

When the week was over, Paul and his 
companions walked towards the seashore. 
The Christians of Tyre walked with them, 
and even their children. When they were 
out of the city they all kneeled down on the 
seashore and prayed. Would the children 
ever forget seeing Paul go away? There 
was an affectionate parting by the side of the 
ship. The Christians from Tyre went home. 

Soon the ship came to the end of its voy- 
age, just at the foot of Mount Carmel— that 
mount where long ago Elijah had prayed for 
fire to consume the sacrifice. 

A Good Old Man. 

The ship went no farther. Paul and his 
companions continued their journey on foot 
along the seacoast. They went thirty-five 
miles, and then came to the fine city of 
Caesarea. At this place once lived Cornelius, 
the Roman centurion — the first Gentile who 
received the Holy Ghost from heaven. That 
was more than twenty years ago. Probably 
he was not there, for soldiers do not remain 
long in one place. 

But one old man was there whom Paul 
had seen. Yes ! he had seen him once in 
Jerusalem, when Stephen was stoned. This 
old man was Philip the deacon. He was 
one of the seven deacons, Stephen was an- 
other. This deacon had once been sent to 
talk to the rich Ethiopian in his chariot 
some twenty years ago. 

Philip was still at Caesarea. He was liv- 



ing there with his four daughters. They 
were all prophetesses. It was indeed a hoh- 
family — such a father and such daughters ! 

Paul liked to stay in the house of thh 
good man. His companions stayed then 
too. Some of them may have left him, but 
of this we are sure, Luke was with him, and 
the two Ephesians,Tychicus and Trophimus. 

The Apostle's Girdle. 

There came one day to Philip's house a 
prophet named Agabus. He took off Paul's 
long girdle and bound his own hands and 
feet with it. What could he mean by this? 
Paul must have wondered. He said, So 
shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man 
that weareth this girdle; and they shall 
deliver him to the Gentiles. 

When Paul's friends heard these words 
they began to entreat him not to go to Jeru- 
salem. Luke and Philip and all the rest 
joined in the entreaty, while they shed many 
tears. Paul answered, Why do you weep 
and break my heart ? For I am ready not 
only to be bound, but to die in Jerusalem for 
the Lord Jesus. 

When his friends could not persuade him 
they left off begging him saying, The will of 
the Lord be done. Then Paul and his com- 
panions went on, walking to Jerusalem. 

Paul left Caesarea with more companions 
than he brought with him. Christians loved 
Paul, and liked to be with him. They 
wanted also to keep the Feast of Pentecost 
at Jerusalem. 

The distance was seventy-five miles, which 
must have taken them three or four days tc 
travel. They had to pack up their luggage to 
send by some way to Jerusalem. They had 
also much money to take to the poor saints 
in that city. Their journey must have beer 
tiresome, for it was now summer, and the 
climate was hot. 



522 



rAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



When they arrived at Jerusalem they went 
to the house of a very good old man, who 
had long believed in Jesus. Mnason was 
living at that time somewhere in Jerusalem, 
and the disciples led Paul and Luke, and 
their companions, to the house of this good 
old man. 

The brethren in Jerusalem were very glad 
to see this famous apostle Paul. Luke, also, 
they must have been glad to see, for he had 
already written his precious history of Jesus. 
We do not know how many apostles there 
were now at Jerusalem. One there certainly 
was, James. He was the ruler of the Chris- 
tians in Jerusalem. 

Paul knew they wished to hear about his 
travels, and he related how God had turned 
the hearts of many Gentiles from idols to 
Jesus. 

The brethren were all delighted to hear 
this account ; and they praised God for his 
wonderful works. Paul gave them also the 
money for the poor saints — the gift of the 
Gentiles. This was a joyful beginning. But 
soon all that the Holy Spirit had said by the 
prophets came true. 

A Thrilling Address. 

The day after Paul's arrival a great meet- 
ing was held in Jerusalem. The apostle 
James was chief over the assembly ; many 
elders were there. Christians brought large 
sums of money, collected in distant countries, 
for the poor saints in Jerusalem. 

When they had presented these gifts, Paul 
began to address the assembly. He told 
them the history of his travels, and of the 
conversions the Lord had wrought among 
the Gentiles. What praises flowed from the 
lips of the believers, when Paul had finished 
his speech ! 

Then some elders arose and began to give 
the apostle their advice. What, did they 



think that Paul needed their advice? Yes, 
they did. They had met with Jews who bore 
false witness of Paul, and who said he set 
the people against the law of Moses. Was 
this true ? 

Then they gave this advice: Brother, 
show that you honor the law of Moses by 
doing what we desire. We have here four 
men who have made a vow, probably the 
vow of the Nazarite; see that they shave 
their heads, and let them purify themselves 
with you, and do you pay the expenses. 
Thus you will show thousands of Jews that 
you keep the law, and teach the Jews to 
keep it. 

Uproar in the Temple. 

Paul followed this advice. He took the 
men into the temple, for they were Jews. 
Did this satisfy the fierce Jews ? No, it only 
made Paul's accusers more violent. 

The men were purified during seven days. 
When the seven days were almost over, 
some Jews from Asia (probably from the 
city of Ephesus), seeing Paul in the temple, 
stirred up the people against him, and seized 
him, saying, This Paul is the man who goes 
about speaking against the temple; and he 
has now taken Gentiles into the temple. 

Paul had never done this. These wicked 
Jews had seen him walking in the streets 
with Trophimus the Ephesian; but Paul had 
never taken him into the temple. 

But most people believed what the Jews 
from Asia said; and they all ran together 
into the temple. They found Paul in the 
court of Israel, near the altar, where he had 
a right to be. They seized hold of him, and 
dragged him out of the court, down the 
steps. The Levites shut the great brass 
doors behind him. His enemies hurried him 
into the streets, and would soon have stoned 
him — as they had stoned Stephen more than 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY 



523 



twenty years before — had they not been 
suddenly stopped in their wickedness. 

There was a great tower just above the 
temple, where a thousand Roman soldiers 
lodged. The captain heard that there was 
an uproar in the city, and he ran down in 
haste, with many soldiers, to the place where 



come true. Here is Paul in chains. Wii 
he not soon be in prison? May he not 
soon be led forth to die? This was one 
reason why he said, The Holy Ghost 
witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds 
and afflictions abide me. 

When the captain had bound Paul, he 




PAUL BOUND WITH CHAINS. 



Paul was. He found the Jews beating him, 
but when these men saw the captain they 
left off beating Paul; for they knew they 
had no right to do so. 

The chief captain came near, and ordered 
his soldiers to bind Paul between two, with 
two chains, as Peter had once been bound. 

Now the prophecies about Paul began to 



inquired what he had done to make the 
people so angry with him. 

The people gave so many answers to this 
question that the captain did not know what 
to believe. Some cried out one thing and 
some another, and there was such confusion 
that the captain ordered the soldiers to take 
him into the tower or castle. 



524 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



The soldiers led him along till they came 
to the stairs up to the castle. As they 
went up those stairs the people pushed the 
soldiers so much that Paul was lifted off his 
feet and carried up the stairs in the soldiers' 
arms. All the time the people, who were 
pressing up the stairs kept on crying out, 
Away with him ! These people were 
ferocious as hounds ready to seize upon a 
harmless deer. 

Allowed to Speak. 

The captain had gone up the stairs first, 
for as Paul was on his way he saw the cap- 
tain, and respectfully said to him, May I 
speak unto the people ? 

The captain wanted to know who he was, 
Paul answered, I am a Jew of Tarsus, and I 
beseech thee suffer me to speak unto the 
people. There was something so pleasant 
and honest in Paul's manner, that the cap- 
tain gave leave for his prisoner to speak. 

Then Paul stood on the stairs, rather near 
the top, and made a sign to the people below 
that he was going to speak. The fierce mul- 
titude wanted to hear him speak, wondering 
what he would say ; and so they suddenly 
became quite silent. 

Then Paul spoke. He told the multitude 
his history — how he once cruelly treated the 
Christians — and how he saw a light from 
heaven, and heard Jesus speak—and how he 
was made blind — and how Ananais restored 
his sight — and how he preached about Jesus 
in Jerusalem, till God said, Depart I will 
send thee far away to the Gentiles. 

As soon as Paul had uttered these words, 
there arose such cries and shouts from the 
people beneath as you never heard. Amid 
their yells they screamed, Away with such 
a fellow from the earth ; for it is not fit that 
he should live ! As they cried out, they 
took off their upper garments to prepare for 



stoning him, and they threw dust in the ah, 
in their rage. 

The captain began to think that Paul must 
have committed some very dreadful crime to 
make the Jews so angry with him. So he 
ordered a centurion to take him into the cas- 
tle, and to have him scourged till he would 
confess what he had done. What a horrible 
command this was ! For what crime could 
Paul confess ? He might have died under 
the scourge before he could confess. But 
Paul remembered that he was a Roman; 
that is, he had the privileges of a Roman 
citizen, though he was a Jew. 

That privilege was, not to be punished 
without being tried first and found guilty. 
What was thought so great a privilege in 
those countries, is now enjoyed by every 
American. No one can be punished unless 
found guilty. 

The Captain Frightened. 

The soldiers were binding Paul with straps 
of leather to the whipping-post before they 
beat him with rods, and the centurion was 
standing near, when Paul said to the centurion, 
Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is 
a Roman, and who has not been condemned? 

When the centurion heard this, he told the 
soldiers not to go on with their work, and he 
went to the captain and said, You must take 
care what you do, for this man is a Roman. 

Then the captain was quite frightened at 
having bound him with straps or thongs, and 
he went quickly to Paul, and said, Tell me, 
art thou a Roman ? Paul said, Yes. The 
captain said, I paid a great deal of money to 
be made a Roman. 

But I, said Paul, was free-born. He meant 
that his father had the privilege, and so he, 
his son, inherited it from him. The captain 
then sent away the soldiers, and made therp 
put away their straps and their rods. 




PAUL CONVEYED INTO THE CASTLE. 



525 



526 



PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 



But he thought it best to let Paul sleep in 
the castle that night, for had he sent him 
back the Jews might have torn him in pieces. 
So Paul slept that night in the castle; but he 
was not treated as a common prisoner, because 
he was a Roman. Yet he still wore his chains, 
for even a Roman might wear chains. 

Now Paul knew that his enemies would not 
be able to kill him, and that he would go to 
the great city Rome, the grandest city in all 
the world, where Caesar, the emperor of the 
world, reigned. 

Paul had long wished to go to Rome, that 
he might speak for Jesus there and turn many 
to the Lord. But he did not yet know how 
he was to get there. 

Visit from Paul's Nephew. 

The next morning a young man went up 
the stairs leading to the castle. The place 
was well guarded by soldiers. The young 
man asked the centurion at the door whether 
he might see Paul. The centurion gave him 
leave. 

Who was this young man ? Was it Tim- 
othy ? No ; it was none of Paul's fellow- 
travellers, but it was a young man who loved 
him, and a young man well known at Jeru- 
salem as a gentleman and a Christian. 

When this young man entered Paul's 
prison-room, he said, Uncle, I have some- 
thing very important to tell you. You see 
this young man was Paul's nephew. He was 
his sister's son, but we do not know his name. 

Paul wanted to know what he had to tell 
him so important. It is a dreadful plan that 
has been made by forty Jews to kill you, my 



uncle. These forty have made a vow, or 
promise, that they will not eat or drink till 
they have killed you. But how can they 
get at you ? They have been to the chief 
priests, and have begged them to ask the 
captain to bring you to the council to be 
judged by the Sanhedrim. Then they intend 
to hide themselves on the way, and suddenly 
to burst forth from their hiding-place and to 
kill you on the spot. 

The Young Man Tells His Story. 

Paul thought that he ought to try to pre- 
vent this wickedness, though he well knew 
he should not be killed, for God had told 
him he should see Rome. He called a 
centurion who was close by, and said to him, 
Will you take this young man to the captain ? 
For he has something to tell him. 

So the centurion brought him to the 
captain. The captain took the young man 
by the hand and led him into a room where 
he could be alone with him. Now, said he, 
what have you to tell me ? 

The young man told him all. He ended 
by saying, When the chief priests send to 
ask you to let Paul come down to the coun- 
cil, do not consent. The captain answered, 
You may now go. Do not mention to any 
one that you have told what the Jews intend 
to do. 

The young man readily promised this ; for 
if the Jews had known that he had told the 
captain, they would surely have torn the 
nephew in pieces instead of his uncle. This 
nephew had acted faithfully to his uncle and 
had saved his life. 




THE SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD. 



527 




THE GLORY OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. 



528 



CHAPTER XXXVIII, 



Paul Sent by night to Caesarea — The Roman Governor Felix — Wicked Drusilla— 
A New Governor — Paul before King Agrippa — A Pointed Sermon — Two Years iH 
Prison — Plot to Take the Life of Paul — The Voyage to Rome — Furious Storm— 
The Ship Wrecked — Escape of All on Board — A Deadly Viper — Astonishment of 
the Heathen — Miracles of Healing — Paul's Arrival at Rome — A Noble Martin — 
The Apostle John — Wonderful Visions. 




EARS before this, Paul had per- 
secuted Christians ; now he is 
persecuted in like manner, yet 
his friends do not forsake him. 
The captain had a great deal to 
do before evening. His plan 
for saving Paul's life was to send 
hi in away secretly to another city. There 
was a city called Caesarea, seventy miles from 
Jerusalem. At that time the Roman gov- 
ernor was living there. The captain thought 
of sending Paul to be judged by that Roman 
governor ; for that was a privilege that Paul 
enjoyed as a Roman citizen. 

But if the Jews knew that Paul was going 
to leave the city they would waylay him. 
Therefore the captain meant to send Paul by 
night, and to have him well guarded by sol- 
diers. 

The captain called two centurions and said 
to them secretly, Get ready immediately two 
hundred soldiers. Each centurion had a hun- 
dred under his command. But that will not 
be enough, thought the captain. Get ready 
besides seventy horsemen and two hundred 
men, with speprs and pikes. Be ready at 
nine o'clock, said the captain. Take care 
that there are horses for Paul to ride on, 
and take him safe to the governor Felix at 
Caesarea. 

Having given these orders the captain sat 
34 



down to write a letter to the governor. He 
began his letter thus : Claudius Lysias unto 
the most excellent governor Felix sendeth 
greeting. 

He went on to say that Paul had done 
nothing deserving of death, or even of im- 
prisonment, but that the Jews had accused 
him of disobeying their law. He ended his 
letter nearly in these words : When it was 
told me that the Jews meant to lie in wait for 
the man, I sent him to thee; and I com- 
manded the Jews to go down to tell thee 
what he had done. Farewell. 

This letter the captain gave to the centu- 
rions to take to the governor. 

Chained to a Man on Each Side. 

At nine o'clock that evening, when it was 
dark, Paul mounted a horse, and a man 
chained to him rode on each side of him. 
Thus Paul left Jerusalem, accompanied by 
four hundred and seventy soldiers. This 
was a little army, and this army was to 
guard one weak man. But that weak man 
had so many enemies that it was necessary 
to guard him well. 

Softly and silently the little army departed 
from Jerusalem, and took the road to Caesarea. 
During that night they went forty miles, and 
then they came to a town that lay on the 
way, where to rest. After resting during 

529 



530 



PAUL AT CESAREA AND ROME. 



the day the four hundred foot-soldiers re- 
turned to Jerusalem, leaving only the seventy 
horsemen to guard Paul. 

The next day Paul set out again on horse- 
back, and in due time arrived at Caesarea, by 
the seacoast. He was taken by a centurion 
to the governor's palace — a magnificent 
palace, built of white marble. 

Governor Felix. 

Paul was led into the grand room, where 
the governor, Felix, was sitting. This Felix 
was indeed a wicked old man. He was once 
a slave, but had been set free and made great. 
Why? Because he was ready to do any 
wicked thing that great men asked him to 
do. This old man was clothed in purple, 
and seated on a throne. Before him stood 
the holy prisoner, with chains on his hands. 

The centurion presented the captain's letter 
to Felix. When the governor had read it, 
he asked where Paul came from. When he 
was told it was from Tarsus in Cilicia he 
looked towards Paul, and said, I will hear 
thee when thine accusers come down. 

Then he command d him to be kept in 
the judgment-hall. He did not put him in 
a prison, but in a fine room close to the 
palace. In that room Paul slept that night. 

Paul was again in Caesarea. He had 
stayed there a little while ago in the house 
of Philip the deacon, with his four holy 
daughters ; and he had seen Agabus the 
prophet. Did Paul now remember how 
Agabus had tied the girdle round his hands 
and feet, and shown that Paul would be 
chained in the same manner ? Oh yes ! 
Paul remembered it well ; for it was only ten 
days ago, since Agabus had done this. 

Now Paul found himself with the real 
chains around his wrists and his ankles. But 
though he was in chains, he was in a pleas- 
ant prison — for it was a fine, handsome, airy 



room — and kept cool by the sea-breezes. 
He waited there three days before his enemies 
arrived. In the text five days are mentioned, 
but they are counted from Paul's leaving 
Jerusalem, not from his arriving at Caesarea. 

Ananias, the high priest, came, znd the 
elders of the Sanhedrim. There must have 
been a grand train of horses and servants, 
when such honorable men travelled. 

One morning Paul in his chains was called 
to appear before Felix, to be judged. A 
whole host of enemies was assembled in the 
place. How full of malice they felt when 
they saw the poor prisoner, who had escaped 
out of their hands a few days before ! 

They had brought with them a man who 
could speak well ; he was called an orator, 
or speaker. His name was Tertullus. The 
Jews promised to pay him well for making a 
fine speech against Paul. 

Tertullus began his speech by praising 
Felix. He continued it by abusing Paul. 
He pretended that Paul had gone about the 
world trying to make the Jews rebel ; and 
that he had come to Jerusalem to profane the 
temple. 

Felix Afraid of the Jews. 

When Tertullus had finished his speech, 
Felix made a sign for Paul to speak. The 
prisoner declared that he had done nothing 
wrong, and that no one could prove any- 
thing against him, except this one thing, that 
he had said : There will be a resurrection 
of the dead ! 

When Felix had heard Paul's answer, he 
did not know what to say. He thought 
that Paul was innocent. Why, then, did he 
not let him go ? For the same reason that 
Pontius Pilate would not let Jesus go. He 
feared to displease the Jews. Still he was 
afraid to condemn a Roman citizen such as 
Paul. So he said to the Jews, I will wait till 



PAUL AT C/ESAREA AND ROME 



531 



I know more of this matter ; perhaps the 
captain may come down and tell me more. 

The Jews were very much disappointed by 
this answer ; for they wanted to get Paul 
down to Jerusalem. But they were obliged 
to go home without him. 

Felix liked Paul better than before, since 
he had heard his speech. He directed a 
centurion to take care of him, and to be kind 
to him, and to make him comfortable. He 
told him that Paul might be allowed to see 
his friends, and to have them stay with him. 

Allowed to See His Friends. 

This was a great delight to Paul. His 
friends were very dear to him. He might 
see Philip, who lived in Caesarea. His 
daughters might come and bring him any 
food or clothes that he might want. His 
friends at Jerusalem could easily come down 
and see him. Seventy miles are not a very 
long journey. Perhaps the apostle James 
came down — perhaps Peter — perhaps John. 

It is certain that Luke was often with 
Paul. Some think that he wrote his history 
of Jesus while sitting by taiil's side. 
Timothy was sure to come ; he was like a 
son to Paul, and was his greatest earthly 
comfort. There were many more who loved 
to be with the apostle. Would not Silas 
come and sing psalms with him, as he once 
did in a worse prison, a long while ago ? 

Very likely Paul was thinking of the 
chains he wore at this time when he wrote 
to the Hebrews, saying, Remember them 
that are in bonds, as bound with them ; and 
them which suffer adversity, as being your- 
selves also in the body. Day after day 
passed away, and Paul continued in his 
pleasant prison. Sometimes Felix went 
away for a while. Once he returned, bring- 
ing with him a beautiful young lady, whom 
he had just married. Her name was 



Drusilla. She was a Jewess. She was a 
daughter of that Herod who put Peter in 
prison, and who was eaten by worms. 

Yet, though a Jewess, she had just 
married a heathen, and she had committed 
many crimes ; for though so young, she had 
been married before, and she had left her 
husband to be the wife of Felix. The 
husband she had left was a king. 

It is reported that Simon Magus, whom 
Peter rebuked, had managed by his arts to 
set her against her right husband, and to 
turn her to like Felix. 

When Felix brought Drusilla to Caesarea, 
he told her of the wonderful prisoner he was 
keeping there. He told her how well Paul 
spoke about Jesus Christ, and his power tc 
save those who believed in him. Felix 
thought that Drusilla would like to see this 
Jew, as she was a Jewess. So he told the 
centurion to bring Paul out of prison into 
his room. 

Paul was glad to speak of his Saviour to 
very great sinners. He knew that he stood 
before a wicked Gentile governor, and a 
false, faithless Jewess. He spoke not only 
of Jesus as the Saviour, but also of Jesus as 
the Judge. He declared how terrible it 
would be for a sinner to stand before that 
Judge at the last day. 

What Felix Did. 

While the prisoner spoke of his heavenly 
Judge, his earthly judge was seen to trem- 
ble. This was a good sign. It might be 
that he would not only tremble, but fall 
down and implore mercy, as Paul himself 
had once done. Oh, how he had trembled 
when he had said, Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ? 

But this aged sinner, Felix, when he 
trembled, commanded the preacher to de- 
part Go thy way for this time. When T 



532 



PAUL AT C.ESAREA AND ROME 



have a convenient season I will call for thee. 
Paul was obliged to leave him, though he 



Felix often sent for Paul again and talked 
to him, but I do not hear that he ever trem- 




THE STRONG SUPPORTING THE WEAK. 

wonld gladly have stayed to persuade him I bled again. His heart was set upon getting* 
to repent, and join the band of Christians. | money, and so he sent often for Paul, in 



PAUL AT C^SAREA AND ROME. 



533 



hopes that Paul would offer him money to 
set him free. But Paul would not offer a 
bribe to a judge, even if he had the money, 
for it is wicked to offer bribes. 

No doubt Paul's friends would have given 
him the money, if he had asked for it. 

A New Governor. 

Felix went on in his covetousness for two 
years, and then another governor was sent 
by Caesar at Rome to take his place. 

Felix might have released Paul before he 
went away, but he thought it would please 
the Jews more if he left Paul in prison, and 
so he did. Thus he went on adding sin to 
sin, getting more and more hardened. We 
do not know he perished in this world, but 
we know that his wife Drusilla, with her son, 
perished in an earthquake. When Felix 
went away, a new governor came in his 
place. His name was Festus. He stayed 
only three days at Caesarea on his way to 
Jerusalem. During that short time he did 
not see Paul. But when he came to Jeru- 
salem he heard a great deal about him. The 
chief priests and his friends came to Festus, 
and told him about a very bad man who lay 
in prison at Caesarea. 

Oh, he has done so much harm ! they 
said. When he was free, he went from 
place to place, setting people against Caesar ; 
he wants us all to rebel, and only to mind the 
laws of a man whe once was crucified, Jesus 
of Nazareth, who, he says, is the true King. 
What do you want me to do, said Festus. 

We want you to send soldiers to fetch this 
wicked man, that you may judge him at 
Jerusalem. Do grant us this great favor, we 
entreat you — do let him come to Jerusalem. 

What made them so very anxious that 
Paul should come down to Jerusalem ? They 
wanted to hide themselves in the road, and 
to burst forth upon him and kill him. 



Those forty Jews, who lately made the 
same kind of plan, were among his accusers 
now, with Ananias at their head. Festus did 
not know the real motive of the Jews in 
wanting Paul to come to Jerusalem, but he 
did not grant their request, for he saw no use 
in bringing Paul back to Jerusalem. 

Festus answered : I am going down to 
Caesarea very soon, and when I go you can 
come with me, and you can accuse him 
before the judgment-seat, there, of all the 
wicked things you say he has done. The 
Jews were much disappointed at this answer, 
but they were obliged to submit. 

Festus stayed ten days at Jerusalem, and 
then he returned to Caesarea. There went 
with him the chief priest, and a troop of 
Paul's enemies. The next day Festus sat 
on his judgment-seat in the palace, and the 
prisoner was brought forth to stand before 
him. 

Would Not Go to Jerusalem. 

That prisoner saw once more his deadly 
enemies, who were panting for his blood. 
They had brought no great speaker with 
them this time, but they stood round about, 
pouring out of their spiteful lips, loud and 
bitter complaints against Paul. 

When Paul was allowed to speak, he said 
plainly, I have done nothing at all against 
any of them, nor against Caesar. All I have 
done is to declare that Jesus, whom they 
crucified, is risen again from the dead. 

Festus saw that Paul had done nothing 
really wicked ; but he was anxious to please 
the Jews, so he said to Paul, Will you go up 
to Jerusalem, and there be judged before me? 
This was just what the Jews wanted. They 
must have been pleased when they heard 
Festus say this. 

No, said Paul: I will be judged before 
Caesar. 




534 



PAUL AT C/ESAREA AND ROME. 



53o 



Paul was wise to refuse to go to Jerusalem. 
He chose to go to Rome instead, and God 
had told him (as you know) in a dream that 
he should go to Rome. 

Festus could not refuse Paul's request, 
and he replied, As you wish to go to Caesar, 
to Caesar you shall go. 

Ordered Back to Prison. 

Then Festus ordered the centurion to 
take Paul back to his prison, and to keep 
him there, till he could send him in a ship 
to Rome. Paul had long been anxious to 
visit the great city that ruled the world. We 
do not know exactly how the Gospel 
reached Rome, but there were Christians 
there even before Paul was blinded by the 
bright light near Damascus. 

Perhaps some of those persons who were 
in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost were 
from Rome, and returned with the wonderful 
story of Christ. Perhaps some of the 
disciples who were scattered abroad after the 
martyrdom of Stephen went there, at any 
rate there were Christians in Rome, and 
Paul had written them a letter and had sent 
it by Phebe who belonged to the church at 
Cenchrea. 

The Jews went back to Jerusalem from 
Caesarea more disappointed than ever. They 
had lost their prey, they would never be able 
to stone him or to crucify him. He was to 
be taken far away. Paul remained in prison 
while Festus, the governor, waited for a ship 
to carry the prisoner to Rome. While 
Festus waited, a king came to see him. It 
was the son of that Herod who was eaten 
with worms. His name was Herod Agrippa, 
but he is generally called Agrippa only. 

He was a very great man — greater than 
Festus, for he was a king who could do what 
he would, while Festus was only a governor 
under Caesar. 



Agrippa brought with him his sister. 
Bermce. Do you remember he had another 
sister, called Drusilla? But she was gone 
away with Felix. The whole family were 
very wicked. As Agrippa was a Jew, he 
knew more about the Jew's religion than 
Festus, who was a Roman. Agrippa paid a 
very long visit to Festus. 

One day Festus said to him, I should like 
you to see a man I have here in prison named 
Paul. The Jews hate him very much, and 
yet I cannot find out that he ' has done any- 
thing wrong. They chiefly quarrel with him 
about one Jesus, who, the Jews say, is dead, 
and who Paul says is alive. I would have 
taken him to Jerusalem to be judged, but he 
wishes to go to Rome, to be judged by 
Caesar. 

Agrippa said he would like to hear the 
man speak. To-morrow, said Festus, you 
shall hear him. The next day King Agrippa 
came into the great court, accompanied by 
the princess Bernice, dressed in a very grand 
manner. All the chief men came also. 

Then Festus commanded that Paul should 
be brought forth. He came with his chains 
on his hands, a poor prisoner, mean and low 
in his appearance, but with Christ in his 
heart. 

Before King Agrippa. 

There were no accusers this time to speak 
first, so Agrippa commanded Paul to begin. 

The prisoner stretched forth his chained 
hand, and spoke respectfully, saying, King 
Agrippa. Then he told his history to the 
king, declaring how he had seen Jesus, as a 
light brighter than the sun, and how he had 
heard his voice. Therefore, said he, I tell 
every one that Jesus died and rose again. 

When Festus heard him speak of rising 
from the dead, he cried out in a loud voice 
that Paul was mad. Paul replied, I am not 



530 



PAUL AT OESAREA AND ROME. 



mad, most noble Festus ! but speak forth 
the words of truth ; and the king has heard 
about these things. 

Then Agrippa said, You almost persuade 
me to be a Christian. 

Paul gave him the most beautiful, loving 
answer, I would that you were not only 
almost but altogether such as I am, except 
these chains. These were the chains upon 
his hands. 

Then the king and the great people rose 
from their seats, and went into another room. 
They said to one another, This man has done 
nothing to deserve death, or even chains. 

Paul Sets Sail for Rome. 

Agrippa said to Festus, If he had not 
asked to be judged by Caesar, he might have 
been set free. 

But was Agrippa ever quite persuaded to 
be a Christian ? No, never. He heard the 
truth, but he did not follow it at the moment 
he heard it. He was not like the jailer at Phil- 
ippi, who said, What must I do to be saved ? 
and who believed that moment and was saved. 

At last a ship came to Caesarea in which 
Paul could sail towards Rome. The ship 
was only going part of the way, but another 
ship might be found for the rest of the voyage. 

Paul was given into the charge of a centu- 
rion named Julius. Was Paul to sail with 
none but strangers ? Oh no ; he had two 
loving friends to accompany him, two friends 
who had travelled with him before, and who 
had probably been much with him in his 
prison. These were Aristarchus, a man of 
Macedonia, and Luke, the writer of Paul's 
history. What a comfort for Paul to have 
such friends, especially Luke ! 

The people who sailed in the ship were the 
captain and his sailors, who worked the ship ; 
the centurion and his soldiers, who guarded 
the prisoners ; Paul and his two friends. 



Besides Paul there were other prisoners, 
who may have committed great crimes. The 
prisoners were all to be judged at Rome. 

ihe ship sailed along the coast of Caesa- 
rea till it came to Sidon, just above Caesarea. 
Here the ship stopped. Paul had Christian 
friends in Sidon. He longed much to see 
them and to bid them farewell. 

Julius, the centurion, was very kind to 
Paul, and he readily allowed him to go on 
shore and see his friends and to get any com- 
forts for the voyage that he needed. His 
friends would be sure to remember to give 
him some good food to take with him. 

A cheering walk it was for Paul to go 
with Luke and Aristarchus to see those 
friends ; it was so long since he had paid a 
visit to any one ; but there went with him a 
soldier, fastened to him by a chain, to see 
that he did not escape. The way was among 
hills covered with fig-trees, orange-trees, and 
vineyards. Paul returned to the ship and 
set sail again. 

After going a long while by the shore of 
Asia, the ship met another that was going to 
Rome. The centurion made all on board 
get into the other ship. 

Danger Ahead. 

And now the ship sailed very slowly for 
many days, for the wind was against it. The 
ship sailed south of the great island of Crete, 
and took shelter in a large harbor there, 
where it was sheltered from the high wind. 
This harbor was called The Fair Havens. 

The summer was now ended, and it had 
become rather dangerous to sail. The chief 
men on board consulted together about the 
voyage. Shall we stay here, or go on ? 

This is a good haven where we are, said 
one ; shall we pass the winter here ? 

Oh no, said another ; there is a much bet- 
ter haven a little farther on. 



PAUL AT CiESAREA AND ROME. 



537 



Let us start and try to reach it, said another. 
Then Paul, though a prisoner, gave his 
advice. He said, Sirs, I perceive that in this 
voyage there will be danger to the goods in 
the ship, and to the ship itself, and to our 
lives. 

But the centurion would not follow his ad- 
vice, for he thought that the captain and the 
owner of the ship knew better than Paul. 
Most of the sailors and soldiers on board 
wished to go on. Surely we can go forty 
miles more to the good port, said they. 

Ah, they knew not that Paul was a pro- 
phet, and that he would not have given his 
advice except by the will of God. 

A Storm Comes On. 

Just at this time the wind blew very soitly. 
The crew set sail, aud they went along so 
pleasantly that they must have been glad that 
they did not follow Paul's advice. In a few 
hours they hoped to reach the well-sheltered 
haven at the farther end of the island of 
Crete. 

The soft south wind was soon changed for 
a very high and terrible northeast wind. 
And now the ship was tossed up and down 
like a mad thing. 

In all haste the sailors got her under the 
shelter of a little island named Clauda, and 
then tried to get up the boat which floated 
after them tied by a rope. It was hard work 
to get this boat on board. When they had 
got it up, they wound a rope round the ship 
to keep it together, for they were afraid the 
boards would split and the ship go to pieces. 
What straining of arms, what pulling, what 
dragging, were seen that day on deck, as the 
wretched crew bound the ropes around their 
battered vessel ! 

The tossing of the waves continued till 
the sailors thought they must make the ship 
lighter by casting away all heavy things ; so 



beds and boards, chains and poles, were 
thrown into the sea. But the ship seemed 
nothing the better for it all, as the wind was 
as furious as ever. 

And now the men on board began to give 
up all hope of being saved. But Paul knew 
that he himself could not be lost, because 
God had declared to him long ago that he 
should see Rome. But this was not enough 
for Paul ; his loving heart desired that all in 
the ship might be saved, and . he made con- 
tinual prayer to God for every one. 

And God answered him by sending an 
angel in the night to comfort him. 

For some time past the sun had never 
been seen in the sky through the dark clouds 
overhead, nor had the moon or stars ap- 
peared. No one could sit down to take a. 
meal ; all were too wretched and too ill. 
Even Paul did not eat, for his heart was full 
of care for the rest. 

What the Angel Said. 

One day he stood up on deck in the midst 
of the trembling troop of sailors and soldiers, 
and spoke. Amid the howling of the winds 
and roaring of waves he spoke, and all now 
listened to every word : Sirs, you should 
have listened to me, and not have left that 
haven in Crete. But now be of good cheer ; 
there shall be no loss of any man's life 
among you, but only of the ship ; for there 
stood by me this night the angel of God, 
whose I am and whom I serve, and said, 
Fear not, Paul ; thou must be brought be- 
fore Caesar : and lo, God hath given thee all 
those who sail with thee. So, sirs, be of 
good cheer, for I believe God that it shall be 
as it was told me, only we must be ship- 
wrecked upon an island. 

Paul knew not the name of that island. 
All the ship's company now saw that Paul 
was a prophet. We may be sure that he 



538 



PAUL AT OESAREA AND ROME. 



told them of Jesus, who died for them and 
rose again ; for Paul never forgot that he was 
God's servant, as he said, Whose I am and 
whom I serve. 

Day after day the ship continued to be 
tossed about by the waves. Fourteen days 
had now passed away since the ship had left 
the Fair Havens in Crete. All this time it 
had been rolling upon the stormy sea, the 
crew not knowing when it would reach land. 

The sailors often let down the plummet to 
measure the depth of the ocean. This plum- 
met was a cord, with a stone or some weight 
at the end. The sailors knew that if land 
was near, the sea would be less deep. 

One night when the plummet was let down, 
the sailors found that the sea was not very 
deep. When let down again, they found the 
sea was still less deep. 

They now hoped that land was near. 
They were glad, yet they were frightened, 
for there are often rocks near the shore. 
They dreaded lest the ship should be dashed 
against rocks and broken to pieces. So they 
thought it best to make it stop its course. 
They let down four anchors to hook it fast 
to the bottom of the sea ; for one anchor 
would not have been strong enough in such 
a rough sea. 

The Ropes are Cut. 

After this was done the people in the ship 
longed very earnestly for the sun to rise. 
The sailors did very wrong this night. They 
made a plan of escaping in the little boat. 
Yet they knew that the other people in the 
ship could not do without them, as none but 
sailors can manage a ship. 

Though it was dark, Paul knew what those 
selfish sailors were going to do, and he told 
the centurion. He said to him and to the 
soldiers, Except those sailors stay in the 
ship, you [soldiers] cannot be saved. 



Then the soldiers cut the ropes that fast- 
ened the boat to the ship, and soon the boat 
was tossed to a distance. Now the sailors 
could not get in it. The darkness was not 
yet gone. All on board were watching for 
the light with anxious hearts, and the light 
was beginning to come. 

Then Paul spoke to them all. He said 
they had now been fourteen days without 
eating a meal, and that they needed food. 
No doubt every one had taken a morsel now 
and then, but not a meal. 

Paul Cheers Those on Board. 

Then Paul begged them to eat. For, said 
he, there shall not a hair fall from the head 
of any of you. It was his God who told 
him this. 

Then Paul took some bread, and gave 
thanks to God in the presence of all on 
board. The heathen men heard Paul give 
thanks to the God of heaven, the father of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. After grace Paul 
broke the bread, and began to eat. Then 
all on board felt cheerful and happy, and 
they also ate bread. 

There was a great number to eat bread- 
two hundred and seventy-six — and many 
loaves must have been eaten in that night- 
breakfast. 

Afterwards they were strong enough to 
throw some more things into the sea, especi- 
ally a quantity of wheat. They were in 
hopes of keeping the ship from sinking, but 
Paul had told them some time ago that it 
must be lost. Oh, how they longed to know 
where they were ! 

But it was now November, near winter, 
and the sun did not rise till half-past six. 
At last the day dawned. The ship's com- 
pany looked up and saw land at a short 
distance. 

The shore was rocky and dangerous. In 



PAUL AT C.ESAREA AND ROME. 



539 



the midst of it was an opening, called a creek . 
At the entrance to the creek — a heap of mud 
and clay was concealed. The sailors tried to 
-drive the ship into this creek. First they lifted 
up the anchors, to set the ship free, and then 
they unfurled the chief sail to get forward. 

They did not know there was a mass of 
-day and mud under the water, till the ship 
stuck fast in it, and so they could get no far- 
ther. Very soon the violence of the waves 
broke the hinder part of the ship, and quite 
■destroyed it. 

All Are Saved. 

The soldiers then made a very wicked pro- 
posal. They said to the centurion, Is there 
not a risk of the prisoners escaping into the 
sea, and running away? Will not the judges 
of Rome be very angry? Had we not better 
kill the prisoners? For if we tell the judges 
at Rome that we killed them, they will not 
punish us, but they will if we say the prisoners 
got away. 

This plan was very selfish and cruel. Shall 
Paul be killed ? There were other prisoners 
besides Paul. They may have been wicked 
men, but still they ought not to be killed be- 
fore they were tried. 

The centurion did not agree to the soldiers' 
plan, for he loved Paul and wished to save 
him. Well he might, for had not Paul saved 
all their lives ? For it was he who hindered 
the sailors from getting off in the boat, as 
tiey meant slyly to do. 

No, answered the centurion to the ungrate- 
ful soldiers ; none of the prisoners shall be 
killed. Let them swim to land if they can. 

So they did swim to land. I believe Paul 
•could swim, for he had once — a long while 
^go — been a night and a day in the deep. 
Those who could not swim caught hold of 
boards and broken pieces of the ship, and 
got safe to land. 



Not one of the two hundred and seventy- 
six was lost in the wreck. No, not a hair of 
their heads was hurt. They were wet and 
cold, but they had not a limb bruised or a 
bone broken. Only the ship was lost. 

Thus all that Paul said came true. Per* 
haps Julius, the kind centurion, may now 
have believed, but the deceitful sailors and 
the cruel soldiers had not believed. 

When all the shipwrecked men came to 
land they saw people on the shore. They 
found that the place was an island, called 
Melita. Its name now is Malta. 

The inhabitants were rather wild. They 
were neither Greeks nor Romans ; so they 
were called barbarians by those proud nations. 
They were ignorant of books, and they wore 
rough clothes, but they were kind-hearted. 
When they saw the poor, shivering, dripping 
strangers on the shore, they quickly lighted 
a large fire, and gave to all whatever they 
needed. It was now raining, and the poor 
creatures must have wanted dry clothes. 

A Deadly Viper. 

Paul, instead of warming himself by the 
fire, went about gathering sticks to keep it 
up. He did not think that a great apostle 
ought not to help, but let others gather 
sticks. No ; he was ready to do anything, 
he was so humble. He brought a bundle 
of sticks and laid it on the fire, when sud- 
denly out of the flame sprang a viper, and 
lo, it fastened on Paul's hand! 

That viper had been coiled around some 
sticks that Paul had gathered, and perhaps 
it was then asleep, or half frozen ; but the 
heat had revived it and made it spring out 
of the fire. There it was, with its fangs on 
the apestle's flesh, hanging down from his 
hand. 

The barbarians looked at it, and knew it 
to be a viper whose bite would kill. They 




THE SHIPWRECK OF ST. PAUL ON HIS WAY TO ROME 



PAUL AT C^SAREA AND ROME. 



541 



said to each other, No doubt that man is a 
murderer who has escaped drowning in the 
sea, but justice will not allow him to live. 
They thought that their gods were angry 
with him, and were going to punish him. 

But Paul shook off the viper from his 
hand into the fire, and he felt no harm at all 
from the bite. 

The barbarians kept on looking at Paul, 
expecting to see him swell and fall down 
dead suddenly; but they looked a great 
while and saw no harm come to him. Then 
they changed their minds, and said that he 
was a god. 

We are sure that Paul would not let them 
worship him. You remember how he for- 
bade the men of Lystra to worship him and 
Barnabas ; and he had the same feelings 
still. He desired nothing but to bring the 
barbarians to worship the true God, the 
Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

A very rich man lived close by the place 
where Paul was shipwrecked. His name 
was Publius. We believe he was the 
governor of the island. Thisislandbelonged 
to the Romans, and had a governor from 
Rome. 

But though Publius was a Roman and a 
heathen, he was very kind to the apostle, and 
invited him and his friends to stay three days 
in his house. 

The Sick Are Healed. 

What a change it was for Paul, after being 
so long in prison, to come to a fine house, 
and to be treated with honor ! Luke and 
Aristarchus, of course, came with him, and 
probably Julius, the kind centurion. It is 
certain that he praised Paul, and that he told 
Publius that he did not deserve to be a 
prisoner. 

It was a good thing for Publius that he 
invited Paul to his house, for the poor old 



! father of Publius lived there, and he now h^ 
I ill of a very bad fever. When Paul heard 
| it he went into the old man's room and 
1 prayed, and laid his hands on him and healed 
| him. 

The news of this miracle soon spread wide, 
and a number of sick people flocked around 
Paul to be healed ; and they were healed. 
When Paul left the house of Publius there 
were many doer.; open to him. Every one 
wanted to have such a wonderful man in his 
house. 

Paul stayed in the island three months. 
During all that time he preached and prayed, 
and he showed many poor barbarians the 
way of salvation. At the end of three 
months the spring was come and the sea was 
smooth. The centurion hired a ship to take 
his whole company to the shores of Rome. 

They Reach a Harbor. 

Paul now parted from his new friends in 
Malta. He found them very grateful. They 
loaded Paul and his friends, Luke and Aris- 
tarchus, with many presents. 

Paul and his friends were much in need of 
clothing, for they had lost all at sea. But 
everything they wanted, whether clothing or 
nice food, was supplied to them. 

There are many dried fruits, such as figs 
and raisins, in hot countries ; and there is 
abundance of oranges. Everything refresh- 
ing was put into the ship by the generous 
barbarians. We may be sure that a blessing 
rested upon them for all this kindness to 
God's people. 

The ship sailed with a fair wind to the 
shores of Italy till it came to a fine harbor, 
called Pu-te-o-li, more than a hundred miles 
from Rome. 

This harbor was a grand place. Ships 
from all parts rode on its smooth waters. 
The shore was beautiful, for its hills were 



542 



PAUL AT C^SAREA AND ROME. 



planted with gardens. Here Paul landed, 
still chained to a soldier, accompanied by his 
friends. Great was his joy to find Christians 
ready to receive him. The kind Julius al- 
lowed him to spend seven days with his 
friends. 



had come from from Rome on purpose to 
welcome him. Seeing them pleased his 
heart so much that he thanked God and took 
courage. At last he arrived at Rome, with 
a troop of loving friends around him, as well 
as the soldier to whom he was chained. 




ST. PAUL S ARRIVAL AT ROME IN CHAINS. 



The day came for the centurion to lead his 
prisoner to Rome. He took him along a 
well-paved road, very near the seacoast. 
Every twenty miles there was a kind of inn 
for the travellers to rest. 

On the road Paul met some friends who 



When Paul was arrived in Rome, where 
did he go ? As he was a prisoner, he ought 
to have been taken to the place where the 
soldiers lived. It was a great square with 
buildings on every side, and a great ditch 
outside. But he was not taken to that noisy 



PAUL AT OESAREA AND ROME. 



543 



crowded place, like the other prisoners. 
Paul was allowed to live in a lodging of 
his own, though he was always to be chained 
to a soldier. 

Do you ask why he was allowed this great 
privilege of living in a lodging ? I suppose 
it was through the kindness of Julius, the 
centurion. 

Do you ask how it was that Paul could 
pay for a lodging ? I suppose it was through 
the kindness of his friends in Rome. There 
were a great many in Rome who loved Paul 
much. When Paul had stayed three days 
in Rome, he sent a message to the chief 
Jews in the city. The message was — to ask 
them to come to see him in his lodging. 

The chief Jews were soon on the way to 
see Paul. They had often heard of him, but 
very few had ever seen him; and they must 
have longed to see such a wonderful man. 
They found him weak and worn, bowed 
down with age and sorrow, but full of love 
and kindness. The soldier was chained to 
his arm. 

Paul thought these Jews might have heard 
from other Jews that he had done something 
wicked. Paul assured them that he had done 
nothing at all to deserve being in chains. All 
he had done to offend the Jews was to preach 
about the resurrection. 

The Jews told Paul that they should like 
to know what he preached about. Then 
Paul fixed a day for them to come again to 
hear him. 

The Jews Have a Dispute. 

Early in the morning they came. Paul 
then began to explain to them out of the 
prophets all about Jesus. He showed them 
how Isaiah called him a lamb brought to the 
slaughter; how David said his hands and 
feet should be pierced, and many other such 
things. 



All day long Paul spoke about Jesus. 
When the evening came the Jews talked 
together. One said : Paul speaks the truth. 
I believe that Jesus died and rose again 
Another Jew said: But I do not believe 
what Paul says. 

In this way they disputed together. Be- 
fore they went away, Paul told the unbeliev- 
ing Jews that the Gentiles would hear of the 
Saviour, and would believe in him. The 
Jews went home, talking all the way about 
what Paul had said. 

For two whole years Paul dwelt in his own 
lodging. Any one, who wished to be taught, 
might come to him. Though Paul could not 
preach in the synagogues, or in the streets, or 
on the hills, he could preach in his house. 
No one forbade him to preach, and many 
people came to him. This is the last thing 
said of him in the Bible. 

The Noble Martyr. 

Luke did not write any more of Paul's 
history. Still we learn from other books 
that Paul was at last beheaded at Rome. 
We know that he wished to die for Jesus, 
and he had his wish. We read nothing 
more in the Bible about any of the apostles, 
except John. The last book in the Bible 
gives an account of the wonderful things he 
saw in his old age. 

After Nero Caesar was dead, another 
wicked Caesar reigned, named Domitian. He 
sent John to a little rocky island near Greece. 
It was named Patmos, and there wicked men, 
who had committed great crimes, were often 
sent to work hard at digging up stones. 

The island is only a quarter the size of 
Malta. Any one could walk round it in a 
day. It is full of mountains. There are 
caves among the mountains. 

In this rugged island John was made to 
live. But on the Lord's day he heard a 



544 



PAUL AT CjESAREA AND ROME. 



voice behind him as of a trumpet, and 
looking back he saw his Saviour, the Lord 
Jesus. He wore now a glorious body, quite 
different from that suffering body on which 
John once leaned his head. Now John was 
so filled with fear that he fell at his feet as 
dead. Then Jesus laid his hand upon him 
and said, I am he that liveth and was dead, 
and behold, I am alive for evermore. Then 
he told John to write seven letters to Chris- 
tians who lived in seven places in Asia. 

The first letter was to Ephesus, where 
Paul had preached, and where John had 
lived a long while. It was a short letter, 
praising the Christians for some things, and 
blaming them for not loving Jesus as much 
as they once did. 

After John had written the seven letters in 
the words of Jesus, he looked and saw a 
door opened in heaven, and he heard a voice 
saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee 
things which shall happen hereafter. 

The Rainbow Round the Throne, 

So John was in the Spirit, and saw a 
throne in heaven, and one shining on the 
throne; a rainbow round about the throne; 
and a Lamb, as it had been slain in the midst 
of the throne ; and many glorious saints and 
angels round the throne, singing the praises 
of the Father and the Son. 

They praised the Father — because he 
created all things ; and they praised the 
Lamb — because he had redeemed his people 
by his blood. 

John saw many terrible sights. He saw 



hail, and fire, and blood, and smoke, and 
brimstone, and plagues, and devils, and 
earthquakes. 

At last he saw Jesus come like a great 
warrior, on a white horse; followed by 
armies on white horses, clothed in linen white 
and clean. 

He saw the old serpent shut up in a pit, 
so deep that it had no bottom, for a thousand 
years. 

He saw the righteous dead reign with 
Christ for a thousand years. 

The Beautiful City. 

He saw Satan let loose for a little while, 
and in the end he saw him cast into the lake 
of fire and brimstone, to be tormented for 
ever and ever. 

He saw the great white throne, and all 
men stand before God to be judged. He 
saw the dead rise from their graves, and he 
saw some cast into the lake of fire. 

He saw a city come down from heaven to 
the earth, shining like precious stones. He 
heard that all whose names were written in 
the Lamb's book of life shall live in this 
city. 

An angel showed him all thesr things, and 
told him about them. 

But Jesus spoke to him also and said, All 
liars shall have their part in the lake which 
burneth with fire and brimstone. 

Jesus ended by saying, Surely I come 
quickly. 

And John answered, Even so, come, Lord 
Jesus. 



a©ped /fllegopie§. 

By Rev. William Adams. 



rHE Kiisra's messenoees. 



CHAPTER I. 




HE city of Metecia lay to the 
west of the dominions of a 
Great King. It was an ancient 
city, and had gradually be- 
come very large and popu- 
lous. But the original set- 
tlers had been placed there in 
consequence of a rebellion against the King's 
authority; and a remarkable law continued 
to prevail among their descendants as a 
memorial of their crime. No one was 
allowed to remain in it above a certain 
number of years, and no one, when he left 
it, was permitted to take any portion of his 
property with him. This was called the law 
of Exile. The Great King himself had 
enacted it, and the citizens had no resource 
but submission. 

There was not even a fixed and definite 
period allotted for their stay. They were 
liable at any moment to receive the Royal 
Mandate. It came to them also one by one. 
As each was summoned to depart, his dear- 
est friends could only accompany him as far 
as the gates of the city. And he was the a 
stripped of all his possessions, and sent forth 
as an exile on his solitary journey. 

Mow, as the inhabitants of Metecia were 
35 



one would have 
aw must have proved 



principally merchants, 
imagined that such a ' 
a source of perpetual disquietude and alarm. 
Yet this was not the case. Occasionally, 
indeed, when it was enforced against a very 
rich man, it would awaken sad thoughts in 
his companions, and cause them to mourn 
over the uncertainty ot their wealth. 

But, for the most part, they all lived on in 
a false security. Every one fancied his pos- 
sessions to be as really his own as though he 
had been able to retain them at will. Such 
a delusion may appear unaccountable ; but 
we must remember that they had gradually 
become accustomed to the law, and for that 
reason it was lightly regarded by them or 
altogether forgotten. 

Pity for the Poor Exiles. 

The Great King, however, was full of com- 
passion, and took much thought for the poor 
exiles, who were thus careless of themselves. 
He knew how dark and dreary was the wil- 
derness that surrounded the city, and was 
unwilling that any should be left there to 
perish. He did not, indeed, reverse his 
original decree, but he did far more than 
this. He changed it from a punishment 

545 



546 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



into a blessing. He offered to receive the 
exiles into a better and more glorious city 
than that from which he took them. 

If they rejected this offer the fault was 
their own. All the conditions on which it 
was made was very easy, and the King him- 
self had promised to enable the citizens to 
perform them. But we need not dwell upon 
them all, for one alone, which applied more 
especially to the wealthier merchants, is 
brought before us by the present story. 

A Gorgeous Room. 

In the city of Metecia dwelt four brothers, 
Philargyr, Megacles, Euprepes, and Sophron. 
At the period at which I commence their 
history, the sentence of exile had lately been 
pronounced against their father. He had 
been a merchant of enormous wealth, and 
as, in accordance with the law, he was 
allowed to take nothing for his own wants, 
the whole of his vast possessions had fallen 
into the hands of his children. They had 
met in order to divide them. 

The room in which they assembled for this 
purpose was filled with the most costly furni- 
ture. The floor was covered with cloth of 
gold, which was now partially concealed by 
bales of yet more valuable merchandise, and 
heaps of precious stones, which had been 
placed there to await the choice of the 
brothers. 

Two sides of the apartment were hung 
with the most gorgeous tapestry, on the 
third was a window commanding an exten- 
sive view towards the west, while the wall 
opposite to the window was entirely covered 
by a spacious mirror, which reflected the 
various objects in the room itself and the 
street beyond. 

But, in the midst of all this external 
splendor, a cloud sat on the countenance of 
each of the brothers. The departure of their 



father was too recent to allow them to forget 
the transitory character of the treasures 
which they were about to share. Let a few 
years pass, and each in his turn would be 
compelled to leave them, and go forth with- 
out money, without home, and without 
friends, into the dreary desert that lay around 
the city. 

It was these thoughts which rendered 
them sad. They had never before felt the 
full burthen of the law of Exile; they had 
been aware of its existence, for no citizen 
could be ignorant of it; but hitherto they 
had seen it, as it were, in the distance. 

It now seemed to meet them directly in 
their own path, and to force itself on their 
attention ; so that the eldest brother did but 
echo the feelings of the rest when he said, 
" Of what profit is this enormous wealth ? 
In the day of our banishment it will not pur- 
chase for us. the delay of a single hour. 
How gladly would I barter the whole of it 
for some quiet dwelling-place where we 
might remain in security for ever !" 

A Strange Image in the Mirror. 

He had not yet finished speaking, when 
his eyes were attracted by the mirror, which 
I have described as covering one side of the 
room. Some image appeared to be moving 
across it, which was not visible in the apart- 
ment itself. He pointed it out to his broth- 
ers, and it was clear from their anxious looks 
that they beheld it also. It was as the form 
of an old man. 

There was nothing in his appearance to 
excite terror, but every object as seen in the 
mirror was changed by his presence. His 
foot trod on the cloth of gold, and it became 
mouldering and worm-eaten : the hem of his 
garment swept against a table of solid ivory, 
and it fell crumbling into dust : while the 
bales of merchandise and precious stones 




A BULKY PILE, AND YET OF WHAT AVAIL? 

ONE BOOK OF GREATER WORTH BRINGS DOWN THE SCALE. 



547 



548 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



lost their richness and splendor, as his cold 
eye rested upon them. 

The brothers watched these signs with a 
sensation of chilling fear, and the eldest al- 
ready repented his hasty words. For, in 
truth, in his inmost heart, he deeply loved 
the glittering wealth, and he was afraid, lest 
the mysterious stranger might take it away, 
and give him in its stead the quiet dwelling 
for which he had asked. 

At length it seemed to them that the im- 
age of the old man thus addressed them : 
" Children, your wish is in vain. You must 
not speak of bartering these treasures for a 
lasting home. They are not really yours ; 
they belong to the Great King, whose sub- 
jects you are. Restore them to him now, 
and he will keep them for you, and in the 
day of your exile give them to you again. 
In this city they are worthless. See how 
even my slightest touch here causes them to 
decay. But in the King's Palace they be- 
come incorruptible. I have no power over 
them there." 

The Old Man's Reply. 

The brothers were yet more troubled at 
his words. They knew well that all the 
riches of Metecia belonged to the Great 
King; but they were disquieted at the 
thought of restoring them to him again. A 
vague fear arose that the sentence of exile 
was about to be passed against themselves ; 
and all, in some degree, shared the appre- 
hensions of Philargyr. 

The old man appeared to read their 
thoughts, and thus replied to them : 

" Fear not ; I am not now come to de- 
prive you of your wealth. Hereafter, indeed, 
I shall return with the Royal Mandate, but 
in that hour you will both see and feel that 
I am near. To-day my voice comes to you 
from a distance, and it is but my reflected 



image that you behold. Yet I bear you a 
message from the Great King. You have 
wished to purchase for yourselves a lasting 
home ; I have said that you cannot purchase 
it, because your riches are not your own ; 
they belong to the Great King. You must 
trust them freely to his Messengers, without 
asking for a return ; and he will store them 
up for you in his own palace, and when you 
are driven from hence, will suffer you to 
dwell with his children in a Glorious City 
where the law of Exile is unknown. 

" But beware lest you neglect this warning, 
and defraud the Great King of the riches 
committed to your trust ; for if you refuse 
to give them to his Messengers, and either 
hoard them up or spend them on yourselves, 
you will have no treasure laid up for you in 
the Royal Palace, and the gates of the 
Glorious City will be closed against you for- 
ever." 

Now, there was nothing really new to the 
merchants in the old man's warning. The 
royal offers of pardon, and the dangers of 
the neglect of them, were well known in the 
city. But die inhabitants seldom spoke of 
them to one another, because they loved 
their riches, and were unwilling to render 
obedience to the King's commands. 

How the Treasures Were to be Sent. 

The brothers had hitherto shared in the 
general feeling; and it was, perhaps, only 
because the remembrance of their father's 
departure was weighing heavily upon them 
that they had so long listened to the voice 
which now addressed them. It did not, 
indeed, seem to pass through their ears at 
all, but to fall at once inwardly on their 
hearts, and for the present they could not 
help regarding it. Yet all shrank from ask- 
ing in what way they were to send their 
treasures to the Royal Palace. 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



549 



They were not, however, left in doubt, i 
The reflection of the street in which their 
house stood was, as I have said, visible in the 
mirror. The figure of the old man now 
pointed towards it ; and as he did so the 
young merchants heard distinctly the words : 
" Behold the Messengers of the Great 
King ! " 

They followed the direction of his finger, j 
and it seemed to them that the approach to | 
their luxurious dwelling was now crowded 
with every form of disease and want. The 
poor, the maimed, and the blind were there. 
Men who seemed stimulated to madness by 
famine, and little infants who could scarce 
crawl upon the ground, formed part of the 
same vast concourse. 

Still, as the old man pointed, their num- 
bers went on increasing, in every direction, 
until, as far as the eye could reach, every 
sign of wealth and luxury had disappeared, 
and in their stead was one universal scene 
of misery. Presently the shrieks of the 
dying, the cries of orphans, and the wailing 
of widows, rose in the air; and then, out of 
the tumult, the low solemn voice of the old 
man fell once more on the hearts of the 
brothers. 

As Beautiful as Ever. 

" These," he said, " and such as these, are 
the Messengers of the Great King. Num- 
erous as they are, they will come to you in 
secret and one by one. Trust them with 
your treasure, and it will be safe; they will 
bear it for you to the Royal Palace. The 
journey thither is long and dangerous ; but 
if you are sincere in your wish to send it, the 
Great King will not suffer it to be lost. 
Only do not cause them to linger needlessly 
within the city walls; and let their departure j 
be secret, lest the King's enemies should ! 
impede them on their way." 



The form of the old man gradually disap- 
peared as he ceased speaking, and the signs 
of his presence passed away; the ivory 
table, the cloth of gold, and the heaps of 
precious stones, resumed the beauty and 
splendor which they had lost. The brothers 
once more breathed freely. Hitherto their 
eyes had been riveted by a kind of fascina- 
tion on the mirror. They now looked 
anxiously around the apartment itself; but 
it had undergone no change. If the old 
man had trodden upon it, not one trace of 
his footsteps had been left. 

A Crowd of Beggars. 

They then turned their eyes towards the 
window. The street presented its usual 
appearance; there was the busy throng 
hurrying hither and thither, and splendid 
equipages and wagons laden with merchan- 
dise. But they saw nothing to remind them 
of the view presented by the mirror, save 
some few beggars who chanced to linger at 
their door. 

As Philargyr threw open the sash to inhale 
the fresh air, they eagerly asked the young 
merchants for alms ; and there was not one 
who at that moment could refuse to give 
them ; for the words of the stranger were 
fresh in their memory, and they felt every 
poor man to be a Messenger from the Great 
King. 

The brothers were too deeply affected by 
the warning of the old man to proceed to 
the immediate division of their wealth. At 
one time, they even contemplated holding it 
in common, and consulted together on the 
best means of restoring it to the Great 
King. But, from the first, their views 
differed so greatly, that they could agree on 
no settled plan : and during the interval con- 
sumed in their discussions, their feelings 
underwent a partial change. The words of 



550 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



the stranger seemed to lose their distinct- 
ness. Their riches recovered, in some 
degree, the value they had lost ; and at 
Vmgth they reverted to their original plan of 
dividing them into four parts, so that each 
might take his own share, and do with it as 
he pleased. 

The Brothers Divide the Property. 

Philargyr was entrusted with the division. 
Many months elapsed while he was absorbed 
in his calculations, and settling how large a 
portion he might appropriate to himself. 
During this time he was more than once in- 
terrupted by Messengers from the Great 
King. But their applications were in vain. 
He always returned the same answer, that, 
until the property was divided, no portion of 
it could be transmitted to the Royal Palace. 

At length the division was made. The 
younger brothers were satisfied, though none 
were able to follow the calculations of Phil- 
argyr. Each had a share assigned to him, 
which, considering the shortness of their 
probable sojourn in the city, seemed inex- 
haustible, and each was left to follow his 
own course. 

I proceed to give a brief sketch of their 
history. 

The remarkable point in that of Philagyr, 
the eldest, was his utter forgetfulness, not only 
of the old man's warning, but of the law of 
the city in which he dwelt. Every act of his 
life appeared to set them at defiance. His 
one great object was to accumulate wealth. 
He neither trusted it to the King's Messen- 
gers, nor spent it in procuring the good-will 
of his fellow-citizens, but hoarded it up 
within the walls of his own house. 

There was no present gratification that he 
would not sacrifice in the hope of adding to 
his possessions for future years. And this 
he did with the sentence of exile hanging 



over his head, and the positive certainty l 
that, when he left the city, he would not be 
allowed to take the smallest portion of them 
away. 

A Startling Legend. 

I have already said, that the inhabitants of 
Metecia lived, for the most part, in forgetful- 
ness of the law of Exile. But the conduct 
of Philargyr appeared unaccountable even to 
the most thoughtless among them. He was 
supposed to be under the influence of a spell; 
and the following legend was commonly re- 
ported through the city : 

There had been, it was rumored, a mine of 
gold communicating with the house of the 
departed merchant. Philargyr had taken 
possession of it, unknown to his brothers. 
This mine was haunted by an evil spirit, who 
had beguiled him by specious offers of assist- 
ance. For a time they had labored to- 
gether ; but the evil spirit, while pretending 
to work out the precious ore, had changed 
the mine into a dungeon, and bound Phil- 
argyr hand and foot with chains of gold. 
After he had thus made him captive, he re- 
fused to allow him to return to the upper 
air, unless he would become his slave, and 
labor incessantly in bringing new treasures to 
the mine. 

It was further said that the golden bonds 
had never from that hour been removed : 
and that, though they were invisible to the 
naked eye, the signs of their presence might 
be detected in every look and gesture of the 
unhappy merchant. Thus his head was con- 
tinually bent downwards, and his very walk 
constrained and embarrassed, because the 
chains and fetters that he wore weighed 
heavily upon him and impeded his steps. 

Strange as this legend seems, it was, in the 
main, true. One part alone was incorrect. 
The spirit of the gold mine had not used 




+&2^**^/ 



LOUDLY THE LEAN AND HUNGRY POOR COMPLAIN, 
YET TO THE MISER THEY APPEAL IN VAIN. 



551 



552 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



threats or violence ; he had, throughout, ac- 
complished his purpose by treachery; and 
Philargyr had sunk, imperceptibly, into a 
state of servitude. His chains had been 
light and flexible when they were first twined 
around his limbs. It was while he wore 
them that, by little and little, they had in- 
creased in size and strength. 

Bound in Chains. 

For such was the nature of those bonds, 
that, when newly wrought, they were most 
easily broken. For this reason, he was not 
suffered to feel their pressure until they had 
been hardened by time ; and even then, the 
change was so gradual, that Philargyr was 
not aware of it. The signs of his bondage, 
which seemed so clear to others, passed un- 
noticed by himself. 

Still, however, he was a slave, and by little 
and little incurred the full misery of servi- 
tude, though to the last unconscious of its 
cause. Morning, noon and evening he 
labored for an insatiable master, who allowed 
him no share in the profits of his toil. Every 
day was passed in drudgery and weariness ; 
every night in anxiety and care. Not an 
hour was given him to share the amusements 
of his fellow-citizens; not an hour for the 
duties of hospitality; not an hour for the 
quiet enjoyment of home. His whole time 
was claimed by the spirit of the gold-mine ; 
and very heavy and monotonous was the 
task imposed upon him. 

If a child were forced to go on hour after 
hour casting up a sum, the figures of which 
were innumerable, he might form some idea 
of the employment of Philargyr. His wealth 
was to him but as an endless sum, and his 
most successful enterprises did but add some 
new figure to the account. 

Yet even this would give no just notion of 
his misery. He could not help believing the 



old man's warning, though his whole life 
was at variance with his belief. He knew 
that his buried treasure would be worse than 
useless when the day of his exile arrived. 
The gates of the Glorious City would be 
closed against him, and endless wanderings 
in the dreary wilderness were certain to suc- 
ceed the present season of anxiety and toiL 
His heart often shrank within him, as he 
witnessed the averted looks of the Messen- 
gers of the Great King. They did not even 
offer to carry his treasures to the Royal 
Palace, for long experience had taught them 
that it was a waste of words to seek employ- 
ment from Philargyr. 

Again and again had he resolved to 
entrust them with some portion of his wealth, 
but the subtle chains of gold withheld his 
hand, and while he was struggling against 
them, the opportunity passed by, and he- 
deferred till the morrow his intended gift. 

aperb Dwellings and Towers. 

While the eldest of the four brothers thus 
labored incessantly for the spirit of the 
mine, the second was following a very differ- 
ent path. He was unfettered by any chain 
of gold, and his bearing was high and 
noble ; his step firm and free. He looked 
down on his very riches with disdain, and 
they won him the envy and admiration of 
his fellow-citizens instead of their pity and 
contempt. But while in every other respect 
his conduct afforded a marked contrast to 
that of Philargyr, there was one important 
point in which he resembled him. He 
neglected altogether the old man's warning. 

There was a district in Metecia, far 
removed from the stir and traffic of the 
crowded streets, and farther still from the 
dwellings of the King's Messengers. It 
was remarkable for the beauty and costliness 
of its buildines. The erection of these 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



553 



ormed a favorite occupation of the more 
wealthy merchants. Their appearance was 
very irregular, for the size and form of each 
varied with the taste and resources of the 
individual who raised it. 

But all might be comprehended under two 
great classes. Some were frail and unsub- 
stantial, and intended to please the eye for 
one short summer, and then make way for 
others not less perishable than themselves, 
while some were built of firm and durable 
materials, in the hope that they might stand 
for centuries as memorials of their architects. 
The one class were for the most part called 
villas of Pleasure — the other towers of Fame. 

Story of a Great Building. 

It was to the erection of one of these lat- 
ter that Megacles devoted his vast wealth. 
The whole energy of his mind was given to 
this single object, and its gradual accom- 
plishment was watched by his fellow-citizens 
with the most eager interest. The raising of 
the tower formed quite an epoch in the his- 
tory of Metecia. Wonderful stories were 
told of the depth of its foundations and the 
thickness of its walls. 

Each of the vast stones seemed to have 
its own legend annexed to it, while the 
quarry from which they came, and the names 
of the workmen, and every detail connected 
with the building, were carefully preserved 
in the annals of the city. But all this I 
must pass over very briefly, for the King's 
Messengers had no share in the work; and 
from this cause the whole narrative of the 
tower, which appeared so eventful to Mega- 
cles and his brother merchants, has but little 
interest in the present story. 

The whole soul of Megacles was absorbed 
in the erection of the building ; and these 
few words comprise his history. He did not 
keep aloof from hn fellow-citizen^, but he 



made his intercourse with them subservient 
to this one object. If he visited the crowded 
streets, it was in order to select workmen of 
skill and strength. If he went into the 
market-place, it was to change his gold and 
jewels for blocks of marble and granite. 

His perseverance was rewarded, and his 
work prospered. Day after day the tower 
increased in size and beauty. It was to no 
purpose that the wind and storm beat against 
it ; the firm foundations defied their power. 
The wreck of the surrounding buildings was 
made to assist its growth. Some of these 
had been left as fragments, in consequence of 
the sudden exile of the architects. Some 
were mouldering away with the lapse of 
time ; and some were purposely undermined 
by the workmen of Megacles. He selected 
from the ruins of each such stones as seemed 
suited for the accomplishment of his design ; 
until at length his tower arose so far above 
every other in the city, that it appeared to 
stand by itself in solitary grandeur. 

He Feared Earthquakes. 

The more it grew, the more was the mind 
of Megacles absorbed in its growth. It 
seemed to exercise a fascination over him, 
and from the day in which it became visible 
from every part of the city, his eye was sel- 
dom withdrawn from it. This may in part 
account for his neglect of the King's Mes- 
sengers. His look was raised above them 
while he watched his tower. Even if they 
ventured to speak to him, their voices failed 
to arrest his attention ; for his ear had been 
so long filled with the din and tumult of 
building, that it had been rendered deaf to 
any gentler sound. 

Yet, notwithstanding his success, Mega- 
cles was not happy. He was perpetually 
changing or adding to his tower. It never 
seemed to have attained the perfection that 



554 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



he designed. He remembered also how the 
city of Metecia was liable to the shock of 
earthquakes, so that at any moment the vast 
fabric might be shaken from the foundation, 
and reduced to a heap of ruins. 

Neither was this all. Even at those times 
in which he was able to view with unmingled 
satisfaction the tower itself, there was still 
a cloud upon his vision of glory. It had 
arisen, in the first instance, from the simple 
question of a poor wayfaring man. Mega- 
cles had observed him gaze earnestly at the 
building, and then turn aside, as though to 
conceal his tears. He could not help in- 
quiring what train of thoughts it had called 
forth to lead to such an expression of sorrow. 

There was a strange sadness in the way- 
farer's reply. " I was thinking," he said, 
" how long this tower was calculated to 
last." — " How long ! " exclaimed Megacles, 
with indignant pride ; " centuries on centu- 
ries will elapse, and there shall be no 
symptoms of decay." — "And I was also 
thinking," he continued, in the same melan- 
choly tone, " how long its possessor will 
remain within its walls ! " 

Remembers the Old Man's Warning. 

The wayfarer had disappeared before 
Megacles could reply, but the unwelcome 
words kept recurring to his mind in spite of 
every effort to suppress them. It was true 
that only half the period usually allotted to 
the merchants for their sojourn in Metecia 
had as yet passed by ; but he knew that, at 
any moment, his sentence of exile might be 
pronounced, and that the strength of his 
tower would not delay its enforcement for a 
single hour. 

The warning of the old man now came back 
to his remembrance, and brought with it new 
feelings of disquietude and alarm. Where 
were the immense riches that had been en- 



trusted to his care? Had any portion of them 
been laid up in the Royal Palace? Alas! he 
shrank from the reply. He had not, indeed, 
buried them in the earth like Philargyr. 

On the contrary, he had often lavished them 
with an unsparing hand. But, while he had 
seldom failed to examine those who came 
for them on their health, their strength, and 
their skill in building, he had forgotten the 
one only important question, — he had never 
asked, whether they were Messengers of the 
Great King. 

Fear of Ridicule. 

There was a time when, as these thoughts 
passed through the mind of Megacles, he 
half formed the resolution of pulling down, 
stone by stone, the tower which he had 
raised, and giving the materials to the King's 
Messengers. But the dread of ridicule and 
pride of heart prevailed. He felt that he 
should incur the mockery of his brother 
merchants, if, after years of incessant labor, 
his own hand were to destroy the sole pro- 
duce of his toil. 

He once more fixed his gaze steadfastly on 
the lofty building, and resolved to suppress 
every doubt and alarm. His efforts were at 
length successful. Not only did his former 
triumphant feeling return, but a yet more 
fatal delusion seized him. He fancied the 
story of the King's Messengers, and the 
Royal Palace, and the Glorious City, to be a 
mere invention ; and maintained that, not- 
withstanding the law of Exile, the only sure 
and lasting resting-place was to be found in 
the tower of Fame. 

Alas ! even while he was giving vent to 
these boastful words, his own sentence of 
exile had gone forth, and the bearer of the 
Royal Mandate was at hand. But we must 
leave him awhile, to follow the history of the 
two remaining brothers. 



CHAPTER II. 




HE story of Euprepes, the 
third brother, differs greatly 
from the two that have pre- 
ceded it. The warning of 
the old man did not merely 
leave a transient impression 
upon his mind, but gave a 
coloring to his whole course of action. He 
talked of it loudly and frequently to his 
fellow-citizens, and described, in affecting 
language, the wonderful vision which the 
mirror had disclosed. As soon as he re- 
ceived his share of his father's wealth, he 
resolved to spend no portion on the 
pleasures of the city, but to transmit the 
whole to the King's Palace. 

He did not fail to make public his inten- 
tion; and there was no lack of Messengers. 
First one, then another came, each with his 
own tale of poverty or distress, and each 
promising to carry safely the treasure com- 
mitted to his trust. Euprepes gave to all 
alike with an unsparing hand; but he soon 
grew weary of the monotony of the employ- 
ment. All went on quietly day after day. 
There was no interest or excitement. His 
proceedings were either unobserved or dis- 
regarded by the greater part of the inhabi- 
tants of the city. He fancied that this was, 
in part, the fault of his Messengers. As soon 
as they received his gifts, they used studiously 
to conceal them and shrink from the observa- 
tion of those who met them in the streets. 

In order to prevent this, he directed that 
they should carry the bags of money openly 
in their hands, and from time to time give 
public notice of the object of their journey. 
Some few refused compliance, and were im- 



mediately dismissed his service. This expe- 
dient, in part, succeeded. The Messengers 
were often seen and questioned, and more than 
one friend congratulated Euprepes on the store 
he was laying up in the Royal Palace. Still, 
however, he was dissatisfied. He required 
something more than this. The way of send- 
ing the money seemed to him out of keeping 
both with the vastness of his wealth and with 
the important object for which it was sent. 
Bright visions would cross his mind of long 
triumphal processions through the streets of 
the city, and of shouts and acclamations 
attending their progress. 

A Herald with a Golden Trumpet. 

Now, while he was indulging these 
thoughts, a man in the garb of a herald 
stood before him. His form, at first, was 
dim and uncertain; but as the young mer- 
chant gazed upon it, it gradually increased 
in distinctness. He wore a gorgeous livery, 
and had a golden trumpet in his hand. 

He thus addressed himself to Euprepes : 
" Your noble purpose has been long known 
to me ; neither have you been remiss in 
carrying it into effect. But there is one 
thing which you have forgotten. Such 
wealth as yours should not be trusted to a 
few scattered Messengers, who wander some 
here and some there, and hide themselves in 
the obscure corners of the city. You. 
require the assistance of a herald to summon 
them all at a stated period, and then to 
marshal them in their ranks and arrange the 
order of their procession. Let, then, that 
office be mine." 

The whole complexion of the life of 

555 



556 



THE KINGS MESSENGERS. 



Euprepes was changed by this proposal. 
He at once adopted the herald's suggestion, 
and the monotony of which he had com- 
plained passed away. From henceforth his 
embassies to the Royal Palace excited no 
less interest in the city than the tower of 
Megacles, while they proved to himself a 
source of perpetual triumph. 

It will be sufficient to describe one of 
them ; for, though they seemed to his 
brother merchants to present an endless 
variety of appearance, the principal features 
in all are in reality alike, and the first 
embassy that he sent will give a true view of 
his history. 

Shouts from the Multitude. 

When the day for the grand procession 
had been fixed, the herald sounded his 
trumpet, and proclaimed it far and wide 
through the streets of the city. In the 
meanwhile the young merchant collected 
many costly bales of merchandise, and ex- 
changed a large quantity of jewels for silver 
and gold. As all this was done publicly 
in the market-place, it tended greatly to 
increase the general interest. The doors of 
his own mansion were closed, and the few 
solitary Messengers who came to them from 
time to time were dismissed with orders to 
return together on the day announced by the 
herald. 

On the appointed morning the windows of 
the neighboring houses were thronged with 
spectators. Presently the crowd thickened 
in the street, until the whole of it was 
blocked up by persons professing to be 
King's Messengers. So vast was the con- 
course that many a poor widow and orphan 
struggled in vain to pass through it, and 
returned sadly to their own homes, without 
once obtaining a sight of the dwelling of 
Euprepes. 



At mid-day the young merchant appeared. 
He was attended by a splendid retinue of 
friends ; near him were the bales of goods, 
and the gold and silver which he was about 
to distribute, but nearer still was the herald, 
who never failed to keep closely to his side. 
The sun shone fully upon them ; and as its 
rays were reflected back by their bright 
apparel and the golden trumpet and the 
precious metals that lay scattered upon the 
ground, the air was rent with the acclama- 
tions of the assembled multitudes. 

After the shouts had continued some 
minutes, the herald proclaimed silence ; and 
Euprepes, taking coins of various sizes from 
the heaps at his side, scattered them indis- 
criminately among the people. 

A Long Procession. 

A scene of fearful confusion followed, 
while each Messenger struggled for his 
share. Many of the most weak and sickly 
were crushed and trodden under foot. The 
young merchant could see but a small 
portion of their sufferings, yet even that gave 
rise to painful thoughts ; but the whisperings 
from within were quickly suppressed by the 
loud voice of the herald, as he proclaimed, 
" Hasten, hasten, ye Messengers ; gather up 
the treasures of Euprepes the merchant, 
which he bids you bear to the distant Palace 
of the Great King." 

It was not until the vast stores which 
Euprepes had provided for the occasion 
were exhausted that the tumult ceased. 
And then the herald arranged the Messen- 
gers in a long procession, that they might 
march publicly through the city. 

It was a strange sight to see that troop cf 
miserable objects, moving along to the sound 
of a trumpet, with all the external signs of 
triumph and joy. The misery of their 
general appearance formed, for th~ most 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



557 



part, a singular contrast to the costly 
burdens which they bore. Many of them 
seemed conscious of this, and shrank instinc- 
tively from the observation of their fellows ; 
but none were permitted to desert the order 
of march ; and ever as they advanced 
onward the voice of the herald proclaimed 
louder and louder, " Behold, ye citizens, 
behold the riches of Euprepes, which he 
sends before him to the distant Palace of the 
Great King." 

The Treasures They Carried. 

The procession was so arranged as to be 
kept continually within view of the young 
merchant. He watched its course through 
the market-place, and up and down the prin- 
cipal streets of the city. 

From the point at which he stood he 
could hear distinctly the shouts of the 
populace and the proclamation of the herald; 
and there he remained, watching and lis- 
tening, until the shades of evening closed 
in, and the reality was lost in a bright and 
beautiful dream. For in the visions of the 
night procession after procession continued to 
pass before him ; they were all laden with 
•costly offerings for the Royal Palace, — some 
of silver and gold, some of bales of mer- 
chandise, some of glorious apparel, — but 
they kept moving round and round the city, 
and with the inconsistency of a dream it did 
not seem strange to Euprepes that, though 
bound on a distant journey, they never 
passed beyond its walls. 

Such was the general aspect of the pro- 
cessions of Euprepes. Some exceeded 
others in pomp and magnificence ; but each 
was proclaimed by the same trumpet, and 
set in order by the same herald ; so that, as 
I before said, one description will suffice for 
them all. 

Meanwhile, his resources seemed inex- 



haustible. It was as though his treasure 
kept returning to himself, and the more he 
gave the more he had to bestow. Of all 
| the brothers he was by far the most popu- 
lar ; his sojourn in the city was cheered 
alike by the praises of the rich and the 
blessings of the poor. 

There were, indeed, some who murmured 
and repined, but their complaints were 
drowned by the trumpet of the herald, and 
never reached the ears of Euprepes. He 
believed himself to be idolized by all within 
the city, at the same time that he was laying 
up for himself an inexhaustible store of 
wealth beyond its walls. Sometimes his 
feelings were those of quiet self-compla- 
cency, sometimes of joyous triumph; but 
they were rarely overclouded by the slightest 
shadow of doubtfulness or alarm. 

Boasted of His Riches. 

The pursuits of his elder brothers were 
regarded by him with a kind of contemptu- 
ous compassion. He would often stand in 
the bright sunshine on the rising ground 
where his house was built, and point in 
derision to the tower of Megacles, or 
describe with bitterness the yet sadder 
slavery of Philargyr; and then following 
with his eye the long train of his own 
Messengers he would conclude by saying, 
" I, too, have my tower, but it is built on a 
surer foundation ; " I, too, have my treasures, 
but I have sent them to a safer home ! " 

The story of the fourth brother I cannot 
tell, for but little is known of his history. 
He did not resemble either Philargyr or 
Megacles, far he neither toiled and labored 
for the spirit of the gold-mine, nor built for 
himself a tower of Fame ; and yet he was 
also unlike Euprepes, for no herald attended 
him on his walks, and there was no array 
of Messengers to be seen continually at his 



558 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



door. Much of his time was passed in 
seclusion. His occupations were unknown ; 
and he sojourned in the city of Metecia as 
one who scarcely belonged to it. 

Those who watched with the greatest in- 
terest the different pursuits of the three elder 
brothers, were gradually led to forget the 
very existence of Sophron. There was no 
great event to mark it or force it upon their 
attention. At one time, indeed, he did ex- 
cite a momentary sensation. He left the 
quarter of the city inhabited by the wealthy 
merchants and made a choice of a more 
lowly mansion, surrounded by the dwellings 
of the poor. His motives even for this 
change were never discovered. Some 
ascribed it to avarice, some to want. But it 
soon ceased to be a topic of conversation ; 
and he was consigned to greater obscurity 
than before. 

He Was Happier Every Day. 

To the few friends who continued to visit 
him in his retirement he was always kind 
and hospitable ; but there was a mystery 
about his way of life which they were un- 
able to penetrate. As time went on, he still 
seemed to grow poorer and poorer. Some 
secret drain appeared to exhaust his wealth. 
No sign of luxury was seen in his abode ; 
his dress was changed for one of less costly 
materials ; and his diet was of the simplest 
kind. 

All this was of itself strange ; but there 
was something yet more unaccountable in 
the effect that it had upon Sophron himself. 
Every day his step grew lighter, and his 
countenance more full of joy. The look of 
depression and anxiety which during the 
days of his abundance he had at times 
worn, was now never seen upon his brow. 
One would have imagined that it was not 
his wealth, but some heavy burthen that had 



been taken away from him ; he became so 
light and cheerful under its removal. 

When questioned as to the cause of this, 
he would sometimes answer by a smile, 
sometimes by a tear ; and there were those 
who said that, though the smile of Sophron 
never failed to make the heart rejoice, his 
tear was yet more full of gladness than his 
smile. 

The young merchant was really poor. 
The cause of his poverty, like the rest of 
his history, was buried in obscurity ; but, 
whatever became of his money, it did not, 
like that of Euprepes, keep returning to him 
again. The praise of men never gilded his 
deeds of self-sacrifice, neither did earthly 
glory shed its brightness upon his path. 

All Go Through the Eastern Gate. 

And yet, after all, his lowly dwelling was 
not without its beautiful legend. There were 
some who could tell how, in the dim twi- 
light, or in the still hour of night, they had 
seen the train of Royal Messengers moving 
steathily from his door. They were not ar- 
ranged in ranks, like those sent by Euprepes. 
Every individual walked alone. And yet it 
was clear that all formed part of the same 
long procession, for each had his left hand 
muffled closely in his garments, while with 
the right he pointed to the East to mark 
the direction of his journey. Slowly and 
silently, one by one, they moved onward 
through the least frequented streets of the 
city. Not a footfall was heard as they 
passed along. 

At length they reached the Eastern gate. 
It was closed against them, but, like a long 
line of shadows, the procession still contin- 
ued its unswerving course, and, passing 
straight through the opposing barrier, were 
lost in the darkness beyond. 

These things were not, indeed, reported 




FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY, OF HEAVENLY BIRTH, 
BESTOW THE RICHEST BLESSINGS KNOWN TO EARTH. 



550 



560 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



publicly in the city. Few of the wealthy 
merchants had heard them at all, and fewer 
still believed them. Those who witnessed 
them felt their voices hushed by the solem- 
nity of the scene. Its silence seemed, as it 
were, to rest upon them ; and they could 
only whisper of it from ear to ear, or medi- 
tate upon it quietly in their own homes. 

And when they asked themselves with a 
thrill of eager interest, whither that long 
procession had gone, a voice within them 
would reply, " It is gone far, far beyond the 
boundaries of the city, — the barriers were 
unable to arrest its progress, — and it now 
bears the treasures of Sophron tc the distant 
Palace of the Great King." 

Enchanting Music. 

Such was the legend : but there is one 
part of it which yet remains to be told. It 
was said that when the few who had 
witnessed the secret procession, returned to 
the street in which the merchant lived, they 
perceived his doorway to be strewed with 
pearls, while an amber light shone around 
his dwelling, and strains of gentle music were 
heard from within its walls. So soft was 
that light, that it seemed but to shed its 
coloring on the surrounding darkness — so 
quiet that music, that the stillness of the 
night was unbroken by the sound. 

They stood gazing at a distance. They 
were afraid to venture near, lest, like a scene 
of enchantment, it should vanish from their 
view ; and there was a fascination in it, which 
would not suffer them to depart. The eye 
never grew weary of watching that lovely 
radiance, nor the ear of listening to that 
celestial melody. 

At length the sun arose, and then the 
vision passed away ; or rather, though the 
soft light and quiet music never ceased to 
bless the house of Sophron, they could not 



be seen and heard in the glare and turmoil 
of the day. The pearls also were no longer 
visible. There were some, indeed, who 
fancied they could still perceive them ; but 
when they stooped to gather them, they 
found only the drops of morning dew which 
lay upon the ground. 

Days, months and years rolled on in the 
same unvaried course. Philargyr continued 
to toil and labor, and every hour gathered in 
fresh riches for his insatiable master. Meg- 
acles received early the sentence of Exile, 
but his tower remained as his memorial in 
the city. Euprepes still dazzled the eyes of 
the multitudes by his costly gifts and gor- 
geous processions. Sophron alone lived a 
life of obscurity. 

The Burden Grows Heavier. 

The wealth, the fame and the liberality of 
the three elder brothers had severally passed 
into a proverb. Many were the discussions 
concerning their conduct and character ; for 
in spite of the contempt in which Philargyr 
was generally held, even he had his tribe of 
flatterers and partisans, and it was remarked 
that their number increased as the time of 
his banishment drew near. 

But no allusion was made to the law of 
Exile in any of the conversations concern- 
ing the brothers. I have already accounted 
for this silence. Notwithstanding the King's 
warnings, the citizens for the most part were 
accustomed to regard Metecia as their last 
dwelling-place. It seemed as though some 
heavy mist were resting upon them : and 
their low range of thought was bounded by 
the narrow circuit of their own walls. 

A protracted sojourn in the city fell to the 
portion of Philargyr, though the progress of 
time served only to increase the burthen of 
his servitude. He was carrying a heavy 
load of gold to the secret mine, and toiling 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



561 



and groaning beneath its weight, when the 
old man met him on his way. For a mo- 
ment he gazed steadfastly on the weary mer- 
chant, and then with a smile of bitter irony 
offered to relieve him. Philargyr trembled. 

He endeavored at first to persuade himself 
that it was but a re-appearance of the same 
image which he had seen in the mirror ; but 
his limbs tottered, and his cheek grew pale, 
and there was a numbness at his heart, 
which convinced him that the actual form of 
the old man now stood before him, and he 
could not doubt the nature of the message 
which he bore. 

At length, in much terror and perplexity, 
and scarcely conscious of the meaning of his 
own words, he thus addressed him : " Stran- 
ger," he cried, " if, indeed, thou art charged 
with the sentence of Exile, leave me yet a lit- 
tle while. I have great treasure in this city. 
Wait till my camels and asses are laden, and 
my slaves with their bags of gold are ready 
to accompany us, and then we will hasten on 
•our journey." 

He Loses All His Wealth. 

But the stranger replied — and the cold, 
stern accents fell as ice on the heart of 
Philargyr : " O merchant, what vain words 
are these ! You know well that whoever 
travels with me travels alone. Your camels 
and asses, your slaves, your silver, and your 
gold cannot accompany us. The wealth 
that you have sent beforehand to the Royal 
Palace is now your own ; but all that re- 
mains in the city is lost to you forever." 

Then did the vision in the mirror rise in 
distinct and fearful remembrance to the mind 
of Philargyr. It was but mockery to speak 
to him of treasure sent beforehand to the 
Royal Palace. The accumulated gains of 
his many years of labor were all stored up 
in the fatal mine. He had counted them 
36 



over but yesterday ; not a single coin vvas 
missing — all were there. 

Now, as he thought of this, he turned his 
eyes imploringly to the old man ; but in a 
moment he again averted his gaze, for he 
perceived him to be no longer alone. A 
dark and terrible crowd of attendants were 
ranged around. They were armed with 
scourges of iron, which they raised on high, 
as though ready at any moment to drive 
him forth into the dreary wilderness that lay 
beyond the city. 

A Plea for Pity. 

At length he cried out, in accents of 
mingled fear and remorse, " Alas ! O 
stranger, hitherto I have neglected your 
warning. The whole of my wealth is still 
within the city. But, surely, you yourself 
are a King's Messenger ! Have compassion, 
then, upon me, and even now bear it quickly 
to the Royal Palace." 

But the old man replied, " You ask what 
cannot be. I am indeed a King's Messen- 
ger, but I bear no treasure with me to the 
Royal Palace ; for all things change at my 
touch, and crumble into decay. Those 
charged with that office have been with you 
long ago, — the poor, the afflicted, and the 
infirm ; — they would have conveyed your 
riches thither, if you had not driven them 
empty-handed from your door." 

Darker and more terrible grew the train 
of the old man's followers, as Philargyr 
listened to these fearful words. Once more the 
iron scourges were raised on high ; but the 
unhappy merchant, in a voice of the deepest 
misery, implored the respite of a single day. 

"To-morrow," he said, "to-morrow all 
shall be in readiness. I will even now 
summon the King's Messengers, and send 
the whole of my wealth beyond the walls of 
the city. Spare me, if it be but for a few 



562 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



hours. Your coming was unlooked for, and 
therefore it has found me unprepared." 

" It is false," replied the old man, sternly. 
" My coming has been very slow and gradual. 
During the still hours of the night, you 
heard, one by one, the sound of my footsteps, 
while I was yet at a distance from the city. 
Your limbs grew feeble, and your hair gray, 
and your heart dull and cold ; and you knew 
well that these signs preceded the approach 
of the last Messenger of the Great King. 
Each warning made you struggle for a little 
while, to separate yourself from your gold. 
But it held you in bonds ; and you could 
not set yourself free. If I were to leave you 
now, the result would be the same. You 
would go on clinging to your riches, or 
rather they would go on clinging to you, 
even if you were suffered to remain whole 
centuries in the city." 

A Chain of Gold Around His Hands. 

Philargyr felt that the old man's words 
were but too fearfully true. He had for 
many years been expecting the bearer of the 
Royal Mandate. So slow had been his 
approach, that days, weeks, and months 
seemed to mark the interval of each succeed- 
ing step. Time had been thus allowed for 
the gradual removal of all his wealth. The 
appointed Messengers had repeatedly called 
for it ; but after a faint effort to give it them, 
he had sent them away till the morrow. 

And the cause of this was, as I have said, 
the chain of gold which had been twined 
round his hands by the spirit of the mine. 
It had been light and fragile once, but it was 
a magic chain, which grew more firm and 
massive with the lapse of years. The time 
had been, when the captive, by one vigorous 
struggle, might have set himself free. But 
each weak and unsuccessful effort served 
only to increase its strength ; and the links 



had become so firmly riveted, that his own 
hand was all too feeble to dissolve them now. 
The unhappy merchant had, as we have 
seen, long bent beneath the weight of this 
chain ; but he now perceived it for the first 
time as it was wrenched asunder by the iron 
grasp of the stranger's hand, and in a 
moment he was parted for ever from his vast 
wealth, and, while the scourges fell heavily 
upon him, driven forth as an exile beyond 
the walls of the city. 

The Day of Exile Arrives. 

We will now leave Philargyr, and bring to 
a close the story of Megacles. A no less 
sad and fearful picture awaits us there. He 
was, as I have said, summoned early, and 
the day of his exile followed close on the 
warning of the wayfaring man. But I have 
thought it better to make no change in the 
order of his history. 

The old man found him in all the fulness 
of his strength. He was arrayed in purple 
and costly apparel, and stood gazing with an 
eye of pride on the tower which he had 
raised. A crowd of eager partisans were 
gathered around. The bearer of the Royal 
Mandate passed through the midst of them, 
with a slow and silent step ; and his finger 
had long pointed to Megacles, before he 
himself became aware of his approach. It 
was the looks of those who stood around 
which first warned him that the day of his 
exile had arrived. 

No sooner, however, did he become con- 
scious of the old man's presence, than he 
endeavored to face him with an undaunted 
air. "Stranger," he said boldly, "your 
summons to me is vain. I ask no dwelling- 
place in the Glorious City. Here, in Mete- 
cia, have I built myself a tower ; and here> 
in Metecia, shall be my lasting home." 

There was a shout of applause from the 




NOT FOR A CROWN WILL THIS POOR WORLDING PAUSE, 
BUT WASTES HIS LIFE IN GATHERING STICKS AND STRAWS. 



563 



564 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



surrounding multitude ; but the old man 
neither spoke nor moved. Coldly and 
steadfastly he gazed upon the merchant, 
until the proud spirit of Megacles quailed 
beneath his look, and the boastful words 
seemed to wither on his lips, while every 
limb was shaken with convulsive terror. 

He turned away his face from the unwel- 
come Messenger, and endeavored to gather 
new courage from the contemplation of his 
tower of Fame. But there was a haze which 
now encircled it ; it appeared to be already 
fading in the distance ; and he could hardly 
distinguish the building itself from its long 
dark shadow which rested upon the ground. 

At length the old man broke the silence : 
— " It is ever thus, O merchant ! — the objects 
in this city become, for the most part, the 
same with their shadows, when I approach 
them. But take my glass, and you will 
once more behold distinctly the building that 
you have raised." 

The Moth and Worm. 

As he said this, he held out a glass to 
Megacles. The merchant took it, almost 
unconsciously. For a moment he looked 
through it, and then, with a cold shudder, 
suffered it to fall from his hand. His lofty 
tower had dwindled into a sepulchre, when 
seen through the glass which the stranger 
had given him. But diminutive as it now 
appeared, there was an inscription engraved 
distinctly upon it ; and he had read only too 
plainly these fatal words : — " Here lie the 
garments which Megacles once wore." 

"Yes," said the old man, with a smile of 
scorn, "it is not for yourself that you have 
raised this lofty tower, but for the garments 
which you wear ! They shall remain in the 
city, and rest beneath it, until the moth and 
worm have eaten them away. But for your- 
self you have prepared no dwelling-place, 



and you will be driven forth a homele^rs 
wanderer in the wilderness." 

The last feeling of self-confidence now 
died away from the heart of Megacles. In- 
stead of the crowd of eager partisans, he 
saw only the same gloomy attendants which 
afterwards appeared to Philargyr. He felt 
that his tower would avail him nothing ; and 
that, if the gates of the Royal City were 
closed against him, no hope of safety could 
remain. 

The past rose in bitter remembrance be- 
fore him ; and, as he thought over the num- 
erous workmen that he had employed on 
his building, he tried to recollect some one 
among the number who might prove to have 
been a Messenger of the Great King. 

The effort, however, was vain; and the 
secret feeling of his heart belied his words, 
as he advanced a claim to treasure in the 
Royal Palace. " Stranger," he said, " I 
have not altogether neglected the warning 
which you gave. My riches are not buried 
in a mine ; I have dispersed them far and 
near, and know not whither they are gone. 
Some perhaps may have remained within the 
city, but surely some portion must have 
escaped beyond its walls. If the King's 
Messengers came to me they received their 
share with the rest : I never wilfully drove 
them away. Oh, tell me, then, that there is 
some treasure prepared for me in the Royal 
Palace, and that the gates of the Glorious 
City will not be closed against me for ever!" 

What the Old Man Said. 

But the old man pointed to the tower as 
he replied, " Behold, Megacles, the one only 
monument of your wealth ; it is there, and 
there alone, that all who received your, 
wages or your gifts deposited their burthens. 
You yourself never failed to point it out to 
them as the object of their journey." 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS, 



565 



" But neither is this all ; the King's Mes- 
sengers, though you knew them not, did in- 
deed come to you among the rest. They 
were weak and helpless,' and you loaded 
them with vast blocks of marble and granite 
which they were unable to bear. Many sank 
beneath their burthens ; others were crushed 
and maimed by stones failing from the build- 
ing. It is true that their groans and lamen- 
tations never reached you. They were 
drowned by the noise and tumult which ac- 
companied the erection of your tower. But 
the cries of the King's Messengers are car- 
ried by each passing wind to the Royal 
Palace, and are heard and remembered 
there." 

A Strange Darkness. 

Megacles would fain have replied, but no 
time was allowed him for further words. The 
stranger touched him with his icy hand, and 
in an instant the dark attendants had strip- 
ped him of his raiment, and driven him with 
their scourges from the city. There were 
few who wept for his sudden departure, for 
Megacles was not loved ; but his admirers 
and partisans gathered up his purple gar- 
ments, and deposited them carefully beneath 
the tower. In a little while the moth and 
the worm had consumed them there ; while 
the tower itself continued to stand for many 
years, — a vain memorial of the spot where 
they had been laid. 

Euprepes saw the sentence of exile passed 
on both his elder brothers, and spoke with 
much eloquence of the misery of their fate: 
For himself, he said that he had long since 
been fully prepared to depart ; all his treas- 
ures had been sent before him to the Royal 
Palace; and he was only anxious for the 
time when they would be restored to him 
again. Sometimes he would complain to his 
friends of the long delay of the bearer of 



the Royal Mandate, and declare that he was 
even then listening for his footstep, and would 
advance to welcome him at the first warning 
of his approach. 

The stranger tarried long ; but when he 
did come, the reality proved very different 
from the anticipations of Euprepes. In 
spite of himself, he was conscious of a sensa- 
tion of fear. First a strange darkness seemed 
to fall on the objects around him. Then 
doubts and misgivings flitted like shadows 
across his mind ; and the vision of the future 
as well as of the past and present was. 
arrayed in less bright coloring than before. 

He advanced to meet the old man, but it 
was with the unsteady step of one walking 
in a mist ; he addressed him in bold words 
of welcome, but it was with a faltering voice, 
as though he felt doubtful of the reply. 

"At length," he said, "thou hast arrived! 
But wherefore didst thou tarry so long? 
Was it that thy journey was delayed by* 
the frequent train of Messengers that met 
thee on thy way? They were bearing my 
silver and my gold, my jewels and my mer- 
chandise, to the Great Monarch whom thou 
servest. I have much wealth laid up for me 
in his Palace. Come, then, let us hasten 
thither." 

A Question and a Reply. 

But the old man offered no reply; he 
merely fixed his cold, searching gaze upon 
the merchant ; and while he did so, it seemed 
as though some terrible object rose up 
between them ; and the shadow fell yet more 
darkly on the mind of Euprepes. He tried 
in vain to suppress his feelings of anxiety 
and alarm ; they kept following one another 
like the waves of a troubled sea. At length 
he was forced to give way to them, and once 
more spoke to the old man, but with words 
of less confidence than before. 



566 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



" Stranger," he said, "from whence is this 
sensation of secret terror? I had looked to 
your coming as a time of sunshine and joy. 
Where are the good tidings that you have in 
store for me? Do not imagine that, like 
Megacles and Philargyr, I have neglected 
your warning. My wealth has been distri- 
buted among the King's Messengers. Week 
after week, in long procession, they left my 
door. Surely, surely, you must have seen 
many bags of gold and bales of merchandise 
in the Royal Palace, with the name of 
Euprepes written upon them ! " 

The old man replied, or rather, perhaps, 
though the words seemed to come from him, 
it was the thoughts of Euprepes which made 
answer to themselves : 

" O merchant ! from the city in which you 
dwell to the land inhabited by the Great 
King is a long and dangerous journey. It 
is true that many a Messenger has of late 
trodden it in safety, and rich and precious 
were the burthens which they bore. But a 
simple cross was the only mark either on the 
bags of gold or the bales of merchandise. 
If, therefore, the name of Euprepes was 
written upon yours, the whole of them must 
have been lost." 

The Riches Did Not Arrive. 

"Lost! lost!" exclaimed the unhappy 
man, in a voice of agony ; " nay, it cannot 
be. The embassies were so frequent and 
numerous that some, at least, must have 
arrived : and even if it be otherwise, the 
whole city is a witness that I sent them. The 
air was rent with acclamations as they passed 
along ; and far and near you could hear the 
voices of those who cried, ' This is the wealth 
of Euprepes, which he sends before him to 
the distant Palace of the Great King.' " 

" It is not such sounds as those," replied 
the old man, " which ever reach the Roya 1 



Palace ; they are lost in the din and tumult 
of the city, or heard only by the enemies of 
the King. But tell me, Euprepes, are you a 
merchant, and do you not know that those 
riches are moved most securely which are 
sent in secrecy and silence ? If you had 
wished merely to transfer your posses- 
sions to a house in a neighboring street, 
should you, in the first instance, have 
paraded them before your door, and told the 
bearers to display them openly to all who 
met them on their way ? Surely, if you had 
done this, and they had been intercepted by 
thieves and robbers, the fault would have 
been your own." 

Euprepes could make no reply ; and yet 
he murmured something of a hope that the 
soldiers of the Great King would not have 
suffered the Messengers to be plundered on 
their journey. 

The Enchanter Pride. 

But the old man, in a sterner voice, thus 
continued to address him : 

" I will tell you, Euprepes, what has 
become of your wealth. There is an 
enchanter that dwells in this city ; his name 
is Pride, and he is an enemy of the Great 
King. He it was who sent the herald to 
summon the Messengers to your door. The 
sound of his trumpet never fails to change 
the purest gold and silver into brass and 
glittering tinsel. These were the offerings 
that you really sent ; but even these did not 
reach the destination for which you intended 
them. The enchanter wove his magic 
circles round the feet of your Messengers, so 
that they followed one another in the same 
endless track, without ever advancing one 
step upon their journey." 

A new and fearful light now burst upon 
the mind of Euprepes. He remembered 
how, in the visions of the night, he had con- 




PRIDE DECKS ITSELF, BUT SOON THE CHARMS ARE PAST, 
AND TO A SKELETON IT COMES AT LAST. 



567 



568 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



tinually seen the long processions moving 
round and round. Never for a moment had 
he lost sight of them in the distance, or formed 
a wish to trace their course beyond the city. 

Alas ! in these dreams he had seen but the 
image of his actual Messengers, though it 
was the enchanter who placed before his 
eyes the glass in which they appeared. His 
head grew dizzy, and his heart sick, as they 
rose to his remembrance ; but he still made 
one last effort to lay claim to a recompense 
from the Great King. 

"It was gold," he said, — "it was pure 
gold that I gave ; and though it may have 
been changed and rendered worthless, to me 
at least it was of real value. If it failed to 
purchase for me an inheritance in the Royal 
Palace, it surely ought to have been restored 
to me again. Philargyr hoarded his vast 
wealth ; Megacles built with his a tower of 
Fame ; mine alone has been unprofltably 
spent, and brought me no recompense within 
the city, and yet none beyond its walls." 

He Had His Reward. 

"Merchant," replied the old man, "you 
know well that you have long since had 
your reward. . The applause of your fellow- 
citizens fell like a golden shower upon your 
path ; and their goodwill and gratitude 
have been to you as bales of costly 
merchandise. 

" It was thus that the wealth which you 
professed to give never ceased to come back 
to you again. Like Philargyr, you did but 
traffic with your possessions, and they 
brought you in a full and abundant return. 
Your tower, also, like that of Megacles, is 
built within the city. It is true that your 
own hands have not labored in its erection, 
but day by day you have stood watching it 
in secret, and listened to the shouts and 
acclamations which marked its growth. 



" It may, perhaps, have seemed to you to 
be rising afar off in the territory of the Great 
King ; but this delusion was caused by the 
same enchanter who sent you the herald. He 
spread a mist before your eyes, which made 
an object appear to be in the distance which 
was really near at hand. Your range of 
sight has never passed beyond the bounda- 
ries of the city ; every hope and wish of your 
heart has been confined within it, and there 
also was your treasure and your home." 

Then did the attendants with the iron 
scourges seize upon Euprepes, and strip him 
of his garments ; and he, too, was driven 
forth into the dreary wilderness. But the 
scourgers were unseen by those who wit- 
nessed his departure, neither could they hear 
the fearful words in which the sentence ol 
exile was conveyed. 

And so it was, that, after he was gone, the 
long train of his Messengers continued to 
parade the streets ; while the false herald 
with the golden trumpet proclaimed far and 
near that the happy exile had been received 
within the gates of the Glorious City, and 
that all his treasures had been restored to 
him there. 

Story of the Fourth Brother. 

Such was the fearful history of the three 
elder brothers. It is a relief to turn aside 
from it, and seek a resting-place in Sophron's 
lowly dwelling. He had wept bitterly for 
their exile, but he did not, like Euprepes, 
make a display of his compassion, or boast 
of his own readiness to depart. His tears 
had flowed in secret, and his hopes also 
were cherished in the solitude of his own 
bosom. 

Every day he put his little room in readi- 
ness for the stranger's coming, and was so 
constantly preparing for it that he may be 
almost said to have lived in his immediate 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



56! 



presence. Yet he, like the rest, was con- 
scious of some change of feeling when his 
actual summons arrived. 

He was at the time enjoying the quiet 
beauty of the evening hour. It mattered not 
that a vase with a few autumnal flowers was 
the only ornament of his humble abode ; 
and that the flame burnt faint and feebly in 
the solitary lamp which was standing at their 
side. 

Sophron could not really be in darkness, 
poverty, or alone ; for, as the shades of night 
closed in, the pearls appeared upon the thresh- 
old, the soft music spoke to him as a com- 
panion, and the amber light shed its radi- 
ance around. His heart was full of grati- 
tude for these blessings, when a mingled 
feeling of awe and sadness stole upon him, 
and it seemed as though some shadow were 
moving along the wall. 

The Royal Palace and City. 

Every object changed as the dark outline 
fell upon it ; — the flame of the solitary lamp 
burned even more dimly than before, and 
the autumnal flowers began to wither and 
decay. It needed not these signs to warn 
Sophron that it was the same figure that had 
appeared in the mirror. For a while he 
watched it with a calm and steadfast gaze : 
presently a sensation of weariness stole upon 
him, his thoughts grew confused and indis- 
tinct, and at length he sank in a state of 
partial unconsciousness upon the ground. 

When he again opened his eyes, the old 
man was standing at his side. No gloomy 
attendants were near, but he held a mirror in 
his hand. Beneath it were the words : 
" This is the image of the Past." The scene 
which it reflected was one that had been 
long familiar to Sophron, and he did not 
shrink from beholding it now. 

From time to time soft shadowy forms 



moved across the glass ; they were, doubt- 
less, the images of the King's Messengers ; 
but the eye of Sophron did not for a moment 
rest upon them, for ever as they appeared 
his thoughts wandered to the Royal Palace 
and Glorious City. 

At length the old man addressed him, 
" Oh, merchant," he said, " how is this ? All 
signs of wealth and luxury are wont to 
vanish at my presence, but it is not so with 
thy abode. Even as I crossed the threshold 
of thy door, pearls of inestimable value 
were scattered upon the ground. They can 
be no part of the treasure of this city ; for, 
when I trod silently upon them, they were 
not sullied by my step, but only shone 
with a purer brightness than before ! " 

" Stranger," replied Sophron, " I cannot 
tell You say truly that they are no part of 
the treasure of the city. The whole of my 
father's vast wealth could not have purchased 
one of them. They are as pearls of the far 
East, and I have looked upon them as gifts 
from the Great King ; but I know not what 
hand has scattered them thus plenteously at 
the threshold of my door." 

The Poor Widow. 

He had hardly finished speaking, when a 
shadowy form moved across the mirror, and 
there was a voice from thence which said, 
" I was a widow, poor and destitute, but a 
Messenger of the Great King. I went to 
Philargyr for relief, and he told me that his 
money was his own. I came to Sophron, 
and he spoke soft words of comfort, and 
ministered to my wants, and bade me take 
freely of his treasures, for it was for my sake 
that the Great King had placed them in his 
hands. I wept with joy and gratitude when 
I left him ; and each tear has been changed 
by the Great King into a pearl, and remained 
to this hour on the threshold of his abode." 



670 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



And the old man said, "Oh, merchant, 
from whence is this wonderful melody that I 
hear? Sure I am that none of the musicians 
in this city could produce such strains. 
Their harps lose their tunefulness, and their 
sweetest notes become harsh and discordant, 
when I am standing near. But this music 
has some magic power. My presence only 
renders it more distinct and perfect than 
before, and even my own voice is moved into 
harmony by the sound." 

Music From a Distant Land. 

"Stranger," replied Sophron, " I cannot 
tell. You say truly that the music has a 
magic power, for it lends its own tunefulness 
to all around. To me it has long since 
breathed a spirit of harmony over the din and 
discord of this crowded city ; every care and 
anxiety has been changed and modulated by 
its soothing influence : and the events of day 
after day have seemed to flow on in perpetual 
melody. But though the music has thus 
dwelt in my own home, and I have loved it, 
and listened to it with gladness, I believe it 
to be but the echo of a yet sweeter strain 
which is played afar off in some distant 
land." 

Again there was a voice from the mirror ; 
its accents were low and tremulous, like 
those of a little child, and it said, " I was an 
orphan, weak and friendless, but a Messenger 
of the Great King. I went to Megacles for 
succor, and he pointed to a block of marble, 
and bade me raise it on high : but my hands 
were too feeble for the task ; and then his 
attendants drove me away, and said there was 
no place for little children in the tower of 
*Fame. 

" I came to Sophron ; and he fed me and 
clothed me, and told me that the house in 
which he lived had been lent to him as a 
.shelter for the orphan child. Every morn- 



ing and evening I went in secret to the Great 
King, and carried with me each precious gift 
that I received from Sophron ; and he bade 
me take back to him in return the offering of 
a simple heart overflowing with gratitude and 
love. So it was that my looks and words 
became to his home as a perpetual song; 
and this is the soft music which you hear 
within its walls." 

And the old man said, " Tell me, Sophron, 
from whence is this light that sheds its 
radiance on all around? Sure I am that it 
belongs not to this city; for night has 
thrown her dark mantle over its streets, and, 
even if it were otherwise, mists and chilling 
darkness are the signs of my approach. The 
flame of your own lamp grew more faint and 
feeble when my shadow first fell upon it, and 
is fast expiring now. Whence, then, is it 
that in thy dwelling there seems to be 
perpetual day? " 

The Strange Light. 

A soft slumber was stealing upon Sophron ; 
his eyes were already closed ; his voice was 
indistinct, and yet it sounded like happy 
music as for the last time he replied, 
"Stranger, I cannot tell. The light has 
indeed shone upon me ; nay, is shining upon 
me now. My eyes are closed, and I see it 
not ; but it is as the sunshine of the heart, 
and I feel it to be here. Whether it be a 
reality or a beautiful dream, I am conscious 
of its psesence, though I know not from 
whence it comes." 

Then, for the third time, a voice proceeded 
from the mirror, as a shadowy form moved 
across it, and it said, " I had been rich and 
prosperous, but a long sickness brought me 
into poverty and distress. I heard the pro- 
clamation of Euprepes, and made a feeble 
effort to reach his door ; but the crowd, and 
the glare, and the noise of the trumpet, over- 




ONE BEARS THE CROSS, THE OTHER LAYS IT DOWN 

WHICH OF THE TWAIN WILL WIN THE GOLDEN CROWN? 



571 



572 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



whelmed me with fear and shame. I shrank 
back in silence", and hid myself in the 
obscurity of my own solitary dwelling. 

"Sophron sought me out and found me 
there. He tended me in my sickness and 
ministered to my wants, and bade me be of 
good cheer, for I had a secret store of 
wealth, even the prayers and blessings of a 
poor man ; and, when I spoke to him of 
gratitude, he asked me to give him some 
portion of my treasure. 

" Then did I remember that poverty and 
distress had made me a Messenger of the 
Great King, and I hastened to the Royal 
Palace, and took with me thither my blessings 
and my prayers. The Great King received 
them from me, and shed them as rays of 
unchanging sunshine on the abode of 
Sophron, and from thence comes the amber 
light that yet lives within its walls." 

A Good Bargain. 

There was a pause of a few secwds ; 
while Sophron appeared to be yielding more 
and more to the soothing influence of sleep. 

And then the old man breathed softly 
upon him, and said, "Thrice happy mer- 
chant! Well, indeed, hast thou traded with 
thy wealth ! Thou has bartered thy perish- 
able silver and gold for the widow's grati- 
tude, the orphan's love, and the poor man's 
prayer. Now that thou art going hence, 
these riches will follow thee. The costly 
pearls, the gentle music, and the amber light 
shall attend thee on thy journey even to the 
gates of the Glorious City. But a more 



abundant treasure, a more perfect harmony, 
and a light of brilliance unutterable, await 
thee there." 

A Smile of Gladness. 

As he thus spoke, he placed a second 
mirror before the eyes of Sophron ; and 
though they now seemed to be sealed in 
slumber, a smile of joy and gladness played 
across his countenance. I cannot tell how 
bright and glorious was the vision that he 
saw. This alone I know, that the image of 
the Future was reflected in that glass, and 
that, as the old man held it, his own form 
faded away. For a moment there was a 
sound as of the rustling of many wings in 
the air, and then all was stillness in the 
dwelling of Sophron. 

On the morrow, the sun shone brightly 
upon the city ; — there was the usual hum of 
traffic and moving to and fro of the busy 
multitude in the streets, though the lamp had 
been extinguished in Sophron's abode, and 
the aged merchant was gone. 

Very few of the passers-by noticed the 
deserted dwelling ; but the King's Messen- 
gers wept as they beheld it at a distance, and 
there was a strain of sadness in the gentle 
music of the orphan child. They mourned, 
because their own office was at an end ; but 
when they thought of Sophron, their sorrow 
was turned into joy. They knew that his treas- 
ures had been marked with the Cross, and 
were stored up for him in the Royal Palace, 
and that he himself was dwelling in the happy- 
city where the law of Exile was unknown. 



CHAPTER III, 




T was Mr. Mertoun who related 
the foregoing Allegory, and 
the occasion of it was what 
happened one day after he had 
been doing some missionary 
work. " Has any one called 
during my absence?" inquired 
Mr. Mertoun of his nephew, 
Leonard, on returning home after his usual 
round of visits to the poor. 

" No one," replied the boy ; " I have been 
with Mary in the garden, and if they had, I 
could not have helped seeing them/' 

' ' It is strange," said Mr. Mertoun ; " are 
you quite sure there has been no one?" 

" Quite sure," he answered, but presently 
added, correcting himself, " at least, no one 
of any consequence — only some poor man." 
The tone in which the last words were 
uttered, no less than the answer itself, grated 
harshly on Mr. Mertoun's ear. " Only some 
poor man ! " he repeated : " why, Leonard, 
do you say only? Might not his visit be of 
consequence ? " 

The boy looked confused, but endeavored 
to justify his former reply by saying, " Of 
consequence to himself, uncle, but I meant 
of no consequence to you." 

" Nay, my dear boy ; " replied Mr. Mer- 
toun, " you now speak even more thought- 
lessly than before. It could not have been 
the one without being the other also. 
Remember, that it can never be of more 
importance for the poor man to declare his 
wants that it is for those who have the 
means to relieve them. Do you think you 
understand me?" 

■• T believe, uncle, I do," he replied 



thoughtfully. " You mean, as you told us 
on Sunday, that ' it is more blessed to give 
than to receive.' " 

Mr. Mertoun perceived from the reply, 
that he had awakened the train of reflection 
which he wished, and did not, at the time, 
pursue the conversation. But the words, 
" only some poor man" kept recurring pain- 
fully to his own mind. His nephew and 
niece had been with him but a few days, yet 
it was not the first time he had observed in 
them a want of sympathy for the poor. 
This was, perhaps, an almost necessary 
result of their having been brought up in a 
great city. 

The Claims of Poor People. 

No opportunities had been there afforded 
them of visiting the poor in their own 
homes. They had learned to look upon all 
beggars as imposters, and drew no distinc- 
tion between real and pretended cases of 
distress. Thus, though in other respects 
they were loving and obedient children,, imd 
well grounded in the principles of the Chris- 
tian faith, the numerous warnings in the 
Gospel concerning the danger of wealth, and 
its only safeguard, remained to them almost 
a dead letter. 

It was with a view of remedying this 
defect, and bringing distinctly before them 
the important office assigned to the poor by 
our Blessed Lord, that on the evening of the 
above conversation their uncle told them the 
foregoing story. 

The young people were much interested 
and listened very attentively. A silence of 
some minutes succeeded the story. Both the 

573 



574 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



children were grave aud thoughtful. Leon- 
ard looked anxious to say something, but 
seemed to want courage to begin the conver- 
sation. To relieve him from his embarrass- 
ment, Mr. Mertoun addressed himself in the 
first instance to Mary." 

" Tell me, Mary," he said, " do you sup- 
pose there ever was a city with the same 
singular law as that of Metecia?" 

" Oh yes, uncle," she replied readily ; " I 
guessed at once what you intended by it ; 
the story is an allegory, and the law of 
Exile is the law of Death." 

"It is so," said Mr. Mertoun. "The 
whole world is but our city of Metecia. We 
are liable, at any moment, to be called upon 
to depart from it ; and, when our summons 
comes, we go forth alone, and no part of 
our possessions follow us. If we live in 
forgetfulness of this law, our conduct is, to 
say the least, as unaccountable as that of the 
merchants in the story. But what do you 
understand by the vision in the mirror ?" 

Blessings of Bereavement. 

Mary hesitated, and Leonard answered for 
her, " I suppose, uncle, the thoughts awak- 
ened by the death of friends." 

"You are right," said Mr. Mertoun; 
" our seasons of bereavement are those in 
which we feel most distinctly the nothingness 
of worldly treasures, and are led to take a 
true view of our position as pilgrims and so- 
journers upon the earth. The warnings of 
Holy Scripture, which we may have often 
heard and disregarded, are then so forced 
upon our minds, that we cannot set them 
aside. But tell me, Leonard, what particu- 
lar duty connected with the instability of 
riches is the story designed to illustrate?" 

The boy colored as he replied, " The duty 
of giving to the poor ; — and I know why you 
told it us. But," he added, with some 



slight hesitation, " I hope you do not think I 
am like Philargyr?" 

"I have seen but little of either you or 
Mary," answered Mr. Mertoun, " and cannot 
even tell to which of the three dangerous 
paths pointed out in the allegory your 
natural dispositions may incline. But my 
design in telling it was to bring distinctly 
before you the important office assigned to 
the poor in the Gospel. I was afraid that 
you were unmindful of it when a few days 
since you used the words, ' Only some poor 



man. 



Misuse of Money. 

" I was, indeed," he answered; "and for 
the future, I will try to look upon the poor 
as Messengers of the Great King. But, 
uncle," he continued, after a pause, "do you 
mean that all who neglect almsgiving are 
like some one or other of the merchants in 
the story?" 

" I think," replied Mr. Mertoun, "that all 
who abuse their riches, may be comprehended 
under the three great classes that I have de- 
scribed. First, we have those like Philargyr, 
who do not spend them at all : next, those 
like Megacles, who spend them, but not on 
proper objects : and lastly, those like Eu- 
prepes, who spend them, and on proper ob- 
jects, but not with a proper motive." 

" It was not quite that which I intended 
to ask," said Leonard. " Is it not possible 
to be partly like one and partly like an- 
other?" 

"Undoubtedly," replied Mr. Mertoun ; " I 
have in the story purposely kept the lines 
clear and distinct, in order to trace the course 
of each separately. But in actual life they 
often seem to cross one another, and without 
careful self-examination we cannot tell to 
which path even we ourselves may be in- 
clining. There is, however, a yet more 




WHO CARRY LUGGAGE WILL BE SURE TO FIND 
THAT IN THE RACE THEY'RE SADLY LEFT BEHIND. 



375 



576 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



important difference between actual life and 
the allegory. The merchants are represented 
only as the possessors of great wealth, and 
with the single duty of almsgiving. Is that a 
complete view of our positions as Christians ? " 

How to Bestow Charity. 

"Oh no," replied Mary ; "you said, when 
you explained to us the Parable of the 
Talents, that our health, our time, our affec- 
tions, and the events of our daily life, all 
form part of the Talents for which we shall 
have to account." 

"They do," said Mr. Mertoun ; "and the 
Talent of Wealth, though distinct from the 
rest, never in actual life stands apart from 
them. The exercise of it must be kept in 
harmony with the discharge of our other 
duties. The amount and manner of our 
alms should depend, not merely on our 
means, but on the circumstances in which 
we are placed. It may be laid down as a 
general rule, that the wish to give, and to 
give without ostentation, should be a mov- 
ing principle with all alike ; but in each par- 
ticular instance it will be controlled and 
limited by a variety of events that it is impos- 
sible to define. There is yet another omis- 
sion in the allegory." 

"Do you mean," asked Leonard, "that 
the merchants only received a single warn- 
ing, and went on in the same course to the 
end of their career ? " 

" It was not that to which I referred," 
answered Mr. Mertoun, "though certainly, 
in that respect also, their supposed case is 
but an imperfect representation of our own. 
Each line in the story is brought almost un- 
interruptedly to an end. In actual life, they 
may be broken off by God's mercy, and 
Philargyr, or Megacles, become as Sophron. 
Still, however, the allegory is a true repre- 
sentation of the course of unrepented sin. 



The omission of which I speak occurs rather 
in the history of the youngest brother." 

"You mean," said Mary, "that we cannot 
really lay up for ourselves riches in Heaven, 
and that all we do is accepted for the sake of 
our Saviour. But was not that intended by 
the mark of the cross which was seen on the 
merchandise ? " 

" It is implied in it," replied Mr. Mertoun, 
"but it does not form, so to speak, any dis- 
tinct feature in the allegory." 

" But ought there to be so many omissions 
in the story?" asked Mary. 

He Shows a Picture. 

Mr. Mertoun replied, by taking up a draw- 
ing which happened to be lying on the table : 
" Tell me," he said, " do you know of what 
this is a picture ? " 

"Of the church," she replied, in some 
surprise at the question. 

" Indeed," said her uncle. " But I do not 
see the east window, or the north transept, 
and but very little of the west end of the 
building. It seems to me that three sides of 
the church are wanting." 

" Of course," answered Mary, as she 
partly guessed his meaning, " it must be so, 
for the view is taken from the south." 

"So, Mary," said Mr. Mertoun, "the 
view of life in the story is necessarily taken 
from one particular point. It looks upon 
it, as it were, towards the side of wealth. 
There are other sides no less important to 
the symmetry of the building, but they can- 
not all be introduced into the same picture. 
I have yet another question to ask : — Do 
you suppose that the person who sketched 
this drawing drew a plan of the foundation 
of the church before he began it ? " 

" Nay," replied Mary ; " you cannot be 
serious in asking." 

"Well, then," continued Mr. Mertoun 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



577 



*' in this respect also it is an imperfect picture. 
The real walls undoubtedly have a founda- 
tion, and the building could not stand an 
instant if it were not there. Do you see 
my meaning, Leonard? " 

"I do," he answered; "you mean, that 
the death of our Saviour is the foundation on 
which the walls of our actual life rest ; and 
that, though it be not represented in the 
story, it is, of course, assumed to be there." 

" Exactly so," said Mr. Mertoun ; "and 
I wish you to mark clearly the distinction 
between this illustration and the former. 
The several duties of life are like the differ- 
ent walls of the building, which may be 
brought out in greater or less distinctness, 
according to the point from which we view 
it. The doctrine of the atonement is to the 
Christian as the one foundation on which 
they rest, and without it the picture could 
not be really faithful, for the building itself 
would cease to exist. But to return to the 
duty of almsgiving. Can you tell me any 
passage in Holy Scripture in which it is 
insisted upon to the apparent exclusion of 
others? You were mentioning, Mary, the 
Parable of the Talents. Do you remember 
the description of the Day of Judgment 
which follows it?" 1 

The Reward of the Merciful. 

Mary reflected a moment, and then 
answered, " Those on the King's right hand 
were rewarded, because they had fed the 
hungry, given drink to the thirsty, and 
received the stranger." 

" They were so," said Mr. Mertoun ; " and 
our Blessed Lord assured them, that inas- 
much as they had done this unto one of the 
least of His brethren, they had done it unto 
Himself. In like manner, those on the 
King's left hand are represented as being 

1 St. Matthew xxv. 34, 35. 
37 



punished simply for neglect of the poor. 
There are also two parables concerning rich 
men, in which the same view is brought no 
less distinctly before us." 

" One of them," said Leonard, " is that of 
the Rich Man and Lazarus." 1 

" It is so," answered his uncle; " no other 
sin of the rich man is there pointed out to 
us but that of neglecting the poor beggar 
who lay at his door. The other parable to 
which I referred is that of the Rich Man, 
who, when his ground brought forth plen- 
tifully, determined to hoard the produce. 2 
God punished him with the immediate sen- 
tence of death. And our Saviour Himself 
has annexed to it the warning, ' So is he 
that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not 
rich towards God.' " 

Farthing More Than Riches. 

" Children," observed Leonard, " are 
never very rich." 

The words were spoken in a low tone, as 
though in answer to his own thoughts. His 
uncle, however, did not let them pass un- 
noticed. " They are not," he replied, 
" according to the ordinary meaning of 
the word wealth. 

" But recollect how the mite of the poor 
widow was pronounced by our Blessed Lord 
to be more than all the costly gifts which 
were cast into the treasury by the rich. Now 
the youngest child may either give a like of- 
fering to that of the widow, or he may 
hoard it up, or spend it on himself." 

"And if he does hoard it up," asked Leon- 
ard, " will he be like Philargyr? " 

" Not, I trust," answered Mr. Mertoun, 
u such as he was in the end of his career. 
But his bonds were, at first, light and flexi- 
ble ; it was time that added to them their 
weight and strength ; and such bonds are 

1 St. Luke xvi, 19-31. 2 St. Luke xii. 16 21. 



578 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



often worn in secret by children. They are 
by no means free from the temptation to 
avarice. The apparently slight opportuni- 
ties they have for its indulgence render it less 
perceptible, but not less dangerous. There 
is no need of a gold mine to foster it. 

" The first trifling coin a child receives is 
often formed into the first link of the chain 
that binds him in after years. If it be followed 
by the love of money for its own sake, and 
the wish for more, he is already beginning to 
share the servitude of Philargyr." 

The Remedy for faults. 

The children were silent. The words 
awakened no painful thoughts in Mary, for 
avarice was not one of her failings. But 
Leonard felt the full force of his application 
of the story. The gift which he had received 
from his uncle the preceding Christmas had 
been hoarded up in secret, and was loved 
because it was gold. At length he asked in 
what way the fault of avarice might be 
cured. 

Mr. Mertoun guessed the motive of the 
question, and replied, " The best remedy for 
all our faults, my dear boy, is to make them 
the subject of continual prayer. But this, 
perhaps, more than any other, requires the 
resistance of an immediate effort. The con- 
quering it is really like the breaking of a 
chain. Once summon resolution to give, 
nnd it seems as though some spell were dis- 
solved, and the disposition to give more 
abundantly will follow. 

" I do not mean that the temptation to 
save will not again come back ; but it will 
return after each defeat with less violence 
than before, until at length it will be sub- 
dued altogether by the habit of giving. You 
must not, however, forget that the hoarding 
up our money is not the only abuse of the 
talent of wealth ; the spending it on im- 



proper oojects is one no less dangerous ; and 
I believe that children in general are more 
frequently tempted to follow the path of 
Megacles than that of Philargyr." 

"Of Megacles, uncle!" said Mary, in 
some surprise ; " I had fancied that his sin 
was ambition, and not extravagance." 

"It was so," said Mr. Mertoun, "but he 
may be taken as representing a yet larger 
class. His history brings especially before 
us the folly of wasting on some mere earthly 
object those riches which might be laid up 
in the treasury of Heaven. To do this is, 
in reality, extravagance. It matters not, to 
use the language of the story, whether we 
build with them mere villas of Pleasure or 
towers of Fame. Children, who spend what 
they have on self-gratification to the neglect 
of the poor, are beginning to follow the 
course of Megacles." 

Love of Finery. 

"But can they be also like him in his 
ambition?" asked Mary. 

" Undoubtedly," answered her uncle ; "but 
the ways in which they can purchase this 
species of self-gratification are so apparently 
trivial, that you may have some difficulty in 
tracing the resemblance. Perhaps the spend- 
ing money on finery or anything else in- 
tended to excite the admiration of their com- 
panions, is their nearest approach to the par- 
ticular sin of Megacles. But is it not said at 
the conclusion of the story, that Euprepes, 
also, had in secret been raising a tower ? " 

"It is," answered Mary; "and it means p 
that while professing to relieve the poor, he 
was, like Megacles, merely seeking the 
applause of his fellow-citizens." 

"This, then," continued Mr. Mertoun, "is 
a kind of ambition to which children are 
peculiarly exposed. There is no way in 
which they can purchase applause so readily 




FALL BACK, THOU MIGHTY FOE, AND BITE THE DUST, 
SLAIN BY THE SPIRIT'S SHARP AND DEADLY THRUST. 



i 



579 



580 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



as by giving to the poor. Each act of 
benevolence is sure to be accompanied by a 
certain amount of praise. And yet if they 
make that the prevailing motive for their gift, 
they have their recompense upon earth, and 
will forfeit it in Heaven. Do you remember 
the warning which our Saviour gave His dis- 
ciples on this subject?" 

"He told them," answered Mary, "that if 
they did their alms before men, to be seen of 
them, they would have no reward of their 
Father in Heaven." 

Giving to be Seen of Men. 

"Yes," continued Mr. Mertoun, "and He 
added the precept — ' When thou doest alms, 
let not thy left hand know what thy right 
hand doeth : that thine alms may be in 
secret : and thy Father which seeth in secret, 
himself shall reward thee openly.' 1 Is there 
any difficulty suggested to you by these 
words ? " 

"T was wishing to ask," said Leonard, 
"whether they mean that we are to make a 
secret of everything that we give." 

"They cannot mean that," answered Mr. 
Mertoun, " for our Lord has also told us to 
let our light so shine before men that they 
may see our good works, and glorify our 
Father Which is in Heaven. 2 By the com- 
mand, ' not to let our left hand know what 
our right hand doeth,' we must understand, 
that we ought to shrink even from any feel- 
ing of self-satisfaction at our own good 
deeds, and, of course, yet more to avoid the 
applause of the world. But we cannot help 
actually knowing what we ourselves give, 
and at times it is our duty to let others know 
it also." 

"And yet," observed Mary, "if we do this 
are we not really giving our alms before 
men?" 

1 St. Matthew vi. 3, 4. 2 St. Matthew v. 16. 



"Yes," replied Mr. Mertoun, "but not 
necessarily in order to be seen of them. It 
is the giving with this object that is forbid- 
den by our Blessed Lord. Almsgiving is no 
easy duty, and children especially require the 
advice of others in the manner of its perform- 
ance. They cannot even find out for them- 
selves proper objects of benevolence. They 
may, therefore, ask to be taught how to give> 
and place their offerings in the hands of their 
friends, and yet look for no other recom- 
pense than that which is promised to them 
in Heaven. 

" Do you remember, Mary, how, when you 
were a little child, your mother would come to 
hear you say your prayers, and yet you did 
not say them in order to be heard of her : she 
taught you to pray, but the words were ad- 
dressed to God. Do you understand me? " 

Our Motives Are Known. 

" I think so," she replied ; " but will there 
be no difference at all between children who 
give merely that their friends may praise them 
and those who give from right motives ?" 

" Perhaps, at times, there may be no visi- 
ble difference," answered Mr. Mertoun, "but 
there must always be a real one. Recollect, 
that when it is said, ' Which seeth in secret/ 
it does not mean only that God sees into the 
secret chamber, but into the secret thoughts 
of the heart. He can read clearly and 
distinctly the exact motive of every gift; 
and as those which profess to be studiously 
concealed, may in their very concealment- 
proceed from ostentation, so also those 
which are openly given, may, in his sight 
be as the silent offerings of Sophron." 

But Mary was not yet quite satisfied. " I 
know, uncle," she said, " that we must try 
to be like Sophron in the motive of our 
alms ; but cannot children be in any way like- 
him in the manner of giving them ?" 



THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 



581 



"Yes," answered Mr. Mertoun, ''they 
may be like him in this also, though the re- 
semblance is an imperfect one. They may 
avoid all unnecessary display ; or again, they 
may conceal what they have already given, 
or the inward struggle by which the gift is 
accompanied, or the self-denial which it costs 
them. All this is as a secret store, which 
adds to the value of our offerings in the sight 
of God, if we look for our recompense to 
him alone. 

The Poor Are Sent to Us. 

"But it is difficult to lay down any exact 
rule. The line which, as I have said, is pur- 
posely kept distinct and separate in the 
story, often seems perplexed and difficult, 
when we try to trace it through the conflict- 
ing circumstances of life. I think, however, 
that you will seldom find any practical dif- 
ficulty. While we walk along our appointed 
path, though we cannot see far into the dis- 
tance, each separate step is for the most part 
sufficiently clear. 

" Only keep distinctly in your remem- 
brance that the poor are sent to you by God 
— that it cannot be right to hoard up your 
money, or spend it on your own gratifica- 
tions, while you do nothing to relieve their 
wants — and that your offerings must be 
made for Christ's sake, and without the hope 
of any earthly recompense — and the story 
of the King's Messengers will not have been 



told you in vain. The events of your own 
daily life will best enable you to apply it to 
yourselves." 

Leonard's Costly Gift. 

With the exception of a single question, 
Leonard had been a silent listener to the 
close of the conversation. He did not 
seem to participate in the difficulties of his 
sister. When, however, the usual time came 
for the children to retire to rest, he appeared 
anxious to remain behind ; but Mary called 
him, and he accompanied her. 

Mr. Mertoun was left alone. He had seen 
that the child was impressed by the story, 
but his joy at this circumstance was checked 
by the remembrance that in a little while the 
feelings awakened by it would pass away. 
His thoughts were interrupted by a light 
footstep at the door ; the handle was softly 
turned, and Leonard entered alone. There 
was something in his hand which glittered, 
and this he gave his uncle, with a few whis- 
pered words. 

The tear rose to Mr. Mertoun's eyes, as 
he replied, " God bless you, my dear nephew; 
you have indeed found out the true moral to 
my story. Go on as you have begun, and 
your path will be clear." The offering 
which the boy gave was the long-hoarded 
gold ; and the whispered words were, " For 
the Messenger of the Great King who came 
this morning to your door." 



THE OLD MA.IESr 5 S HOME. 



CHAPTER I. 




N THE coast of the Isle of 
Wight there is a scene with 
which I have long since 
become familiar, but which 
never fails to exercise a 
soothing influence on my 
mind. It is at the eastern 
extremity of the landslip. 
Large portions of the cliff have fallen away, 
and formed a dell so broken and irregular, 
that the ground has the appearance of 
having at one time been agitated by an 
earthquake. 

But Nature has only suffered the convul- 
sion to take place, in order that afterwards 
she might bestow her gifts upon this favored 
spot with a more unsparing hand. The 
wild and picturesque character of the land- 
scape is now almost lost sight of in its rich- 
ness and repose. The new soil is protected 
from the storms of winter by the cliff from 
which it has fallen, and, sloping towards the 
south, is open to the full warmth and radiance 
of the sun. 

In consequence of this, the landslip has, 
as it were, a climate of its own ; and often, 
when the more exposed parts of the country 
still look dreary and desolate, is in the enjoy- 
ment of the blessings of an early spring. 
Such was the season at which I first visited 
it. The gray fragments of rock which lay 
scattered on the ground were almost hid by 
the luxuriance of the underwood, and count- 
less wild flowers were growing beneath their 
shade. 

Below, the eye rested upon a little bay, 
582 



formed by the gradual advance of the sea ; 
and all was so calm and peaceful, that as I 
watched the gentle undulation of the waters, 
I could fancy them to be moving to and fro 
with a stealthy step, lest they should disturb 
the tranquillity of the scene. 

I have said that a visit to this favored spot 
never fails with me to have a soothing 
influence. I feel as though I were treading 
on enchanted ground, and the whole scene 
were allegorical : for it reminds me that, in 
like manner, the wreck of all our earthly 
hopes and plans may but lay open our 
hearts to the influence of a warmer sunshine, 
and enrich them with flowers which the 
storms of life have no longer power to 
destroy. But I cannot now tell whethe** 
these thoughts have their origin in the scene 
itself, or in an incident that occurred the 
first time I visited it. 

The Old Man. 

It was on the evening of the 1 8th of April. 
I had been long gazing upon it, and had 
imagined that I was alone, when my attention 
was arrested by a sigh from some one near 
me. I turned round and saw a venerable old 
man seated upon a fragment of the fallen cliff, 
beneath which the violets were very thickly 
clustering. His hair was white as silver ; his 
face deeply furrowed, and yet pervaded by a 
general expression of childish simplicity, 
which formed a strong contrast to the lines 
which must have been indented upon it by 
care and suffering, no less than by the lapse 
of years. 




VAIN EFFORTS THEIRS WHO TRY TO OVERTAKE 
THE BUBBLES WHICH, IF CAUGHT, WOULD BREAK. 



583 



584 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



I cannot recall the words of the chance 
observation which I addressed to him : but 
it related to the lateness and inclemency of 
the season, and I was at once struck by the 
singularity of his reply. "Yes, yes," he 
said musingly, " the winter has indeed been 
very long and dreary : and yet it haj been 
pladdened, from time to time, by glimpses of 
the coming spring." 

I now observed him more closely. There 
was a strangeness in his dress which first 
excited my suspicion, and I fancied that I 
could detect a restlessness in his light blue 
eye which spoke of a mind that had gone 
astray. " Old man," I said, " you seem tired ; 
have you come from far ? " 

His Long Journey. 

"Ah, woe is me," he replied, in the same 
melancholy tone as before ; " I have indeed 
travelled a long and solitary journey; and 
at times I am weary, very weary; but my 
resting-place now must be near at hand." 

"And whither, then," I asked, " are you 
going ? " 

"Home, sir, home," he replied: and 
while his voice lost its sadness, his face 
seemed to brighten and his eye grow steady 
at the thought; " I hope and believe that I 
am going home." 

I now imagined that I had judged him 
hastily, and that the answers which I had 
ascribed to a wandering intellect proceeded 
in truth from depth of religious feeling. In 
order to ascertain this, I asked : " Have 
you been long a traveller ? " 

" Fourscore and thirteen years," he replied; 
and observing my look of assumed wonder, 
he repeated a second time, more slowly and 
sadly than before, " Fourscore and thirteen 
years." 

"The home," I said, "must be very far 
off that requires so long a journey." 



" Nay, nay, kind sir, do not speak thus," 
he answered : "our home is never far off; 
and I might perhaps have arrived at it years 
ago. But often during early spring I 
stopped to gather the flowers that grew 
beneath my feet ; and once I laid me down 
and fell asleep upon the way. And so more 
than fourscore and thirteen years have been 
wanted to bring me to the home which many 
reach in a few days. Alas ! all whom I love 
most dearly have long since passed me on 
the road, and I am now left to finish my 
journey alone." 

His Wife and Children. 

During this reply, I had become altogether 
ashamed of my former suspicion, and I now 
looked into the old man's face with a feeling 
of reverence and love. The features were 
unchanged ; but instead of the childish 
expression which I had before observed, I 
believed them to be brightened with the 
heavenliness of the second childhood, while 
the restlessness of the light blue eye only 
spoke to me of an imagination which loved 
to wander amid the treasures of the unseen 
world. 

I purposely, however, continued the con- 
versation under the same metaphor as before. 
" You have not then," I said, " been always 
a solitary traveller ? " 

"Ah, no," he replied: "for a few years a 
dear wife was walking step by step at my 
side ; and there were little children, too, 
who were just beginning to follow us. And 
I was so happy then, that I sometimes forgot 
we were but travellers, and fancied that I 
had found a home. But my wife, sir, never 
forgot it. She would again and again 
remind me that ' we must so live together in 
this life, that in the world to come we might 
have life everlasting.' They are words that 
I scarcely regarded at the time, but I love 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



585 



to repeat them now. They speak to me of 
meeting her again at the end of our 
journey." 

"And have ail your children left you ?" I 
asked. 

"All, all," he replied. " My wife took 
hem with her when she went away. She 
stayed with me-, sir, but seven years, and left 
me on the very day on which she came. It 
seems strange now that I could have lived 
with them day after day without a thought 
that they were so near their journey's end, 
while J should travel onward so many 
Vfinters ^lone. It is now sixty years since 
they all went home, and have been waiting 
for me there. But, sir, I often think that the 
time, which has seemed so long and dreary to 
me, has passed away like a few short hours 
to them." 

The Beautiful Home. 

"And are you sure, then," I said " that 
they are all gone home ? " It was a thought- 
less question, and I repented the words 
almost before they were spoken. The tears 
rose quickly in the old man's eyes, and his 
voice trembled with emotion, as he replied: 
*' Oh, sir ! do not bid me doubt it. Surely, 
every one of them is gone home ; one, at 
least, of the number is undoubtedly there, 
and they all went away together, as though 
they were travelling to the same place ; 
besides, sir, my wife was constantly speaking 
to them of their home ; and would not their 
journey as well as my own have been pro- 
longed, if their home had not been ready for 
them ? And when 1 think of them I 
always think of home; am I not, then, 
right in believing that all of them are 
there?" 

There were allusions in this answer which 
I did not at the time understand ; but the old 
man's grief was too sacred for me to intrude 



further upon it. I felt, also, that any words 
of my own would be too feeble to calm the 
agitation which my thoughtless observation 
had caused. I merely repeated a passage 
from Holy Scripture in reply : " Blessed 
are the dead that die in the Lord ; even so, 
saith the Spirit, for they rest from their 
labors." 

The old man's face again brightened, and 
as he wiped away the tears, he added, "And 
' Blessed,' also, ' are they that mourn, for 
they shall be comforted.' There is not only 
a blessing for those who have been taken to 
their rest, but there is the image of that 
blessing to cheer the old man who is left to 
pursue his solitary journey." 

A Golden Pathway. 

At this moment, the sun, which had been 
obscured by a passing cloud, suddenly shone 
forth, and its rays were reflected by a path 
of gold in the silent waters. The old man 
pointed to it with a quiet smile : the change 
was in such harmony with his own thoughts, 
that I do not wonder at the metaphor it sug- 
gested to him. " There," said he, " is the 
blessing of the mourner ! See how it shines 
down from the Heaven above, and gilds with 
its radiance the dreary sea of life ! " 

" True," I replied ; " and the sea of life 
would be no longer dreary, if it were not for 
the passing clouds which at times keep back 
from it the light of Heaven." His immedi- 
ate answer to this observation proved the 
image, which he had employed, to be one 
long familiar to his own mind. " There are 
indeed clouds," he said, " but they are never 
in heaven ; they hover very near the earth ; 
and it is only because our sight is so dim 
and indistinct that they seem to be in the 
sky." 

A silence of some minutes followed this 
remark. I was, in truth, anxious that the 




PRESUMPTION OFTEN VENTURES QUITE TOO NEAR, 
WHERE DANGER SHOULD AWAKEN WHOLESOME FEA& 



586 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



587 



old man should pursue the metaphor farther. 
But the gleam of light passed away as the 
sun sank behind the western hills. His feel- 
ings appeared to undergo a corresponding 
change, and he exclaimed, hastily, " The 
day is fast drawing to a close, and the night 
must be near at hand : I must hasten on- 
ward on my journey. Come, kind sir, and 
I will show you where my friends are wait- 
ing for me." 

Marks of Chains on His Wrists. 

I was wondering whether he now spoke 
metaphorically or not, when my thoughts 
were suddenly turned into a new channel, 
and my former painful suspicions returned. 
As the old man leant upon his staff, his 
wrists became exposed to view, and I saw 
that they were marked with deep blue lines, 
which could only have been caused by the 
galling of a chain in former years. 

The poor wanderer observed the look I 
gave them. A sudden flush of shame over- 
spread his countenance, and he hurriedly 
drew down his garment to conceal them. 
It w r as, however, but a momentary impulse ; 
he again exposed them to my view, and he 
himself gazed sadly upon them as he said, 
" Why should I try to hide them, when they 
are left there to remind me constantly cf my 
true condition? For in times past I have 
borne the pressure of more wearing bonds 
than those ; and though I have been re- 
leased from them now, no one can tell how 
dark and deep is the stain that they have 
left upon the soul." Something more he 
added, but his eye was turned meekly to- 
wards heaven, and it was only from the 
movement of his lips that I fancied I could 
trace the words of the prayer, " Though we 
be tied and bound with the chain of our sins, 
yet let the pitifulness of thy great mercy 
loose us." 



He now began to move slowly forward 
The ground was rough and uneven, and his 
step so very feeble, that I expected every in- 
stant to see him fall. He struck his foot 
against a stone, and I sprang forward to his 
assistance. " Thank you, kind sir," he said, 
in his quiet way ; " but do not fear for me : 
my own frail limbs could not support me for 
an instant ; but I have a staff on which I 
lean ; and though I may stumble at times, I 
cannot fall." 

Again I was in doubt whether to interpret 
his words literally or not; but my belief 
now was that the old man almost uncon- 
sciously used the language of allegory. 
Long habit had so taught him to blend to- 
gether the seen and the unseen world, that 
he could not separate them. Life was to him 
a mirror, and in the passing objects of sight 
and sense he never failed to recognize the 
images of spiritual things. 

Not Used to a Smooth Road. 

I thus give the opinion that I formed of 
the old man from the brief conversation I 
myself had with him. The following inci- 
dent cast, as it were, a shadow upon it, and 
robbed it of its brightness, but did not really 
alter it. My intercourse with him was 
brought to a sudden and painful conclusion. 
It was at my persuasion that he crossed a 
stile w r hich separated the wild scenery of the 
landslip from the public road leading to the 

little village of B . I thought it would 

be easier for him to walk along the morr 
beaten track. 

He had yielded with apparent reluctant • 
to my request. His unwillingness appeared 
to proceed from instinct rather than reason. 
It may in part have arisen from a kind of 
natural sympathy which attracted him to that 
wild luxuriant spot ; in part from an uncon- 
scious dread of the danger to which he 



588 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



actually became exposed. He simply said, 
" This smooth way was not made for the 
like of me, kind sir ; but, under your protec- 
tion, I will venture along it." 

Alas! I little thought of the kind of 
protection he required. We had advanced 
but a few hundred yards, and had just 
reached the summit of the hill which com- 
manded the first view of the village church. 

He Was Called Crazy. 

The old man had paused for a little while, 
and appeared to gaze upon it with a feeling 
of the most intense interest ; I was afraid 
even by a passing question to interrupt the 
quiet current of his thoughts ; when the sil- 
ence was suddenly broken by the creaking of 
a cart-wheel, which grated harshly on my 
ear ; and almost before I could look round, 
I heard a voice of rude triumph behind me, 
crying out, " There he is — there he is — 
there goes the old boy! Stop him, stop 
him, sir ! he is mad." 

I have no heart to describe the scene that 
followed : the poor wanderer shuffled for- 
ward with a nervous hurried step ; but in a 
few seconds the cart was at his side; the 
driver immediately jumped out, and seizing 
him by the collar, with many a rude word 
and coarse jest, tried to force him to enter it. 

For a moment, surprise and indignation 
deprived me of speech, for I had begun to 
regard the old man with such a feeling of 
reverent love, that it almost seemed to me 
like a profanation of holy ground. When, 
however, he turned his eyes towards me 
with an imploring look, I recovered myself 
sufficiently to demand by what authority he 
dared thus molest an inoffensive traveller on 
his journey. In my inmost heart I dreaded 
the answer I should probably receive ; 
neither was my foreboding wrong : the man 
laughed rudely as he replied, " He has been 



mad, quite mad, for more than fifty years 
he escaped this morning from the asylum, 
and one of the keepers has been with me all 
day long scouring the country in search of 
him." 

It was in vain that I sought a pretext for 
disbelieving the truth of the story. I could 
not help feeling that it did but confirm a sus- 
picion which, in spite of myself, had kept 
crossing my own mind : for the bright color- 
ing which was shed by faith on the thoughts 
and words of the old man was not alone a 
sufficient evidence that they were under the 
guidance of reason. Yet, of one thing at 
least I felt sure, that, whatever were the 
state of his intellect, it could be no imagin- 
ary cause that now so strongly moved him. 

My heart bled for him as I listened to the 
pathetic earnestness with which he implored 
the protection that I was unable to afford. 
He even forgot to use the language of 
metaphor in the agony of his grief. 

" Indeed, indeed, sir," he said, " they call 
me mad, but do not believe them, for I am 
not mad now. There, there," he added, 
pointing towards the church, " my wife and 
children are waiting for me. It was on this 
very day that they went away, and we 
have now been parted sixty years. I have 
travelled very far to join them once again 
before I die. Oh, have pity upon me ! I 
only ask for one little half-hour, that I may 
go on in peace to the end of my journey." 

Arrival of the Keeper. 

Large drops of moisture trembled on his 
forehead as he uttered these words; his 
whole face became convulsed with emotion, 
and he clung with such intensity to my gar- 
ment, that his rude assailant tried in vain to 
unloosen his grasp. The man himself was 
evidently frightened by the agitation which 
his own violence had caused, and appeared 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



589 



doubtful how to proceed, when the scene was 
fortunately interrupted by the arrival of his 
companion. 

He was the keeper who had been sent 
from the asylum with the cart, but had left 
it in order to search the pathway which led 
through the landslip. His look and man- 
ner afforded a striking contrast to those of 
the first comer, who proved to be merely 
the owner of the vehicle, which had been 
hired for the occasion. Immediately on his 
arrival, he reprimanded him for his rude 
treatment of the old man, and insisted on 
his returning to the cart, and desisting from 
all further interference. 

My hopes were greatly raised by this, and 
I flattered myself I should now have little 
difficulty in obtaining for the poor wanderer 
the indulgence which he sought. But I soon 
found my mistake, and, under the irritated 
feelings of the moment, almost preferred the 
rude conduct of the first comer to the quiet 
determination with which his companion 
listened to my request. 

Poor Old Robin. 

He merely smiled at the account I gave 
of my own interview with the old man ; and 
when I suggested that it contained no evi- 
dence of insanity, shook his head, and re- 
plied, " You do not know poor Robin. His 
notions about home are the peculiar feature 
of his madness ; but you are not the first 
person that has been deceived by them." 

He spoke in a low tone, as though he was 
anxious not to be overheard. But the pre- 
caution seemed unnecessary : for, though the 
old man had mechanically retained his grasp 
on my garments, he was now looking eagerly 
towards the village church, and I could see, 
from the expression of his countenance, that 
his thoughts had passed away from the scene 
around him. 



When I found my arguments of no avail, 
I changed my ground, and besought as a 
favor that he would make the trial of letting 
the old man proceed to the end of his jour- 
ney, and trust to his promise to return 
quietly from thence. 

" Sir," he replied, in a louder voice, " ] 
should have no more hesitation in trusting 
the word of poor Robin than your own. He 
never deceived me ; and, under ordinary cir- 
cumstances, I would at once grant his request; 
but the hour is late, and as it is, the night 
will close in upon us before we can get back 

to the town of N . The responsibility 

will rest upon me if mischief should arise 
from any additional delay. I am sure Robin 
himself would not desire it." 

Treated the Old Man Kindly. 

As he said this he turned towards the old 
man ; but his countenance was unchanged, 
his eye still fixed upon the church, and he 
either had not heard the words at all, or 
they had failed to convey any distinct im- 
pression to his mind. 

After a pause, I again renewed my en- 
treaties, urging that it would at least be a 
better plan than having recourse to violence, 
which must eventually produce a far more 
serious delay. 

" Of course," said the attendant, " any- 
thing is better than having recourse to vio- 
lence." " Then," said I, " you accede to 
my request?" "Only," replied he, with a 
provoking smile, " in case all other methods 
fail ; but as the delay would be a real incon 
venience to us, you must permit me first to try 
my powers of persuasion. Let me now beg oi 
you, whatever surprise you may feel, to be 
careful to express none." He again lowered 
his voice as lie said these words, and in spite 
of the dislike inspired by the self-confi- 
dence of his manner, and of other stronger 




690 



BASE ERROR SHRINKS AND TREMBLES WITH AFFRIGHT, 
WHEN TRUTH DESCENDS, ARRAYED IN HEAVENLY LIGHT. 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



591 



emotions, my curiosity was excited to know 
how he would proceed. 

He placed himself opposite to the old 
man, so as to intercept his view of the vil- 
lage, and then, having fixed his eye calmly 
and steadfastly upon him, with an appearance 
of real interest, thus soothingly addressed him: 
" I would gladly go on with you, Robin ; 
but am sure you are under some mistake. 
Your wife and children cannot be in yonder 
village — they are not there, they are at 
home. Come quietly with me now, and per- 
haps this evening you may go home also." 

"They Are at Home." 

These simple words touched some hidden 
chord in the old man's heart, and their effect 
was almost magical. All other feelings 
passed away, and I forgot the presence of 
his companions, as I watched the change 
which they produced. His features became 
composed, his hand relaxed its hold, and 
his voice resumed its former tranquil tone as 
he slowly repeated : " They are not there, 
they are at home : they are not there, they 
are at home. True, very true ; they are not 
there, they are at home." 

Presently he raised his eyes to heaven, and 
the attendants, no less than myself, were 
overawed by the solemnity of his manner. 
There was a silence of a few seconds, during 
which he seemed to listen intently ; and then, 
as though he had some echo from above, 
which confirmed the hope that had been 
held out to him, he confidently added : 
"And I also shall go home, — and this very 
evening I shall be there." 

While I was still pondering on these 
words, the old man had of his own accord 
quietly placed himself in the cart, and his 
companions had seated themselves by his 
side. They were en the point of driving off 
before the thought occurred to me of offering 



him money. I drew out my purse, half 
expecting him to refuse the proffered gift; 
and it was with a strong feeling of disap- 
pointment that I observed the look of satis- 
faction, almost amounting to eagerness, with 
which he took the silver from my hand. 

I said within myself, " Can it be, then, that 
the taint of covetousness is to be found in a 
mind from which every earthly affection 
seems so entirely to have been withdrawn ? " 

The Money Kept For Him. 

But I wronged him by the thought. The 
money was immediately taken from him. 
and he resigned it to another no less gladly 
than he had received it from me. " It will 
not do," said the keeper, " to let him have it 
himself: he will merely give it away to the 
first beggar he meets. He has not the slight- 
est notion of the real value of money. It 
shall be laid out for his benefit ; and till then 
it will be safe in my keeping." 

My countenance may have expressed dis- 
satisfaction at the change, though in truth I 
had no objection to make to it. But the old 
man himself interrupted me before I could 
reply, and said, " Do not be afraid, kind sir; 
whether it remain with me or him, your 
treasure will be safe, quite safe ; it matters 
not now whether it remain with me or him ;" 
and then added, in a more solemn tone, 
"safe 'where neither rust nor moth doth 
corrupt, and where thieves do not break 
through nor steal.' I will take it home with 
me; and when you also go home, you will 
find it there." 

And I now understood how it was for my 
sake that he had so gladly welcomed the 
gift ; and I thought, too, that if in truth 
money had a real value at all, it must be the 
one which was assigned to it by him. 

The men were in a hurry to depart, and T 
was now forced to bid adieu to the old mari. 



592 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



He appeared so sorry to leave me, that I 
promised on the morrow to come and see 
him. I did not like to use the word asylum, 
so I said at his dwelling-place. The expres- 
sion at once caught his ear, and re-awakened 
the train of thought which my gift had inter- 
rupted for a time. 

" Not in my dwelling-place," he said, "for 
to-morrow I shall not be there. If you see 
me again, kind stranger, it must be at home. 
May God bless you, and guide you on your 
way ! " The cart was already in motion, but 
he looked back once more, and waved his 
hand as he said, " Good-bye, sir. Remem- 
ber that we all are going home." 

A Parting Warning. 

They were the last words I heard him 
speak, and it is perhaps from that cause that 
they made so strong an impression on my 
mind ; for often since then, when I have been 
tempted to wander from the right path, or to 
murmur as I walked along it, I have thought 
upon the old man's parting warning, and 
asked myself the question, "Am I not going 
home?" 

Very early on the following morning I 

proceeded on foot to the town of N . 

The sceneiy through which I passed was 
rich and beautiful, but it was lost upon me 
at the time : for there were busy thoughts 
within, which would not suffer my eye to 
rest on any external object. I was on my 
way to visit the old man, and had a presenti- 
ment, almost amounting to conviction, that I 
should not find him alive. The words, " I 
also shall go home, and this very evening I 
shsll be there," in spite of myself, kept 
recurring to my mind. 

It was to no purpose that I endeavored to 
set them aside, as part of the wanderings of 
a disordered intellect : there was a solemnity 
in the look and manner of the poor wan- 



derer, which gave a reality to their meaning; 
and I believed the shadow of the future to 
have been resting on his spirit at the time he 
spoke them. 

These fears gradually increased as I 
appioached the Asylum. At the entrance 
there stood a little girl, weeping as though 
her heart would break. A woman, who 
appeared to be her mother, was trying in 
vain to comfort her. Her only reply to 
every caress was a fresh burst of sobs and 
tears. The scene was so in harmony with 
my own thoughts, that the very instant I 
saw her, I guessed the cause of her sorrow. 
Nor was my conjecture wrong : the child 
had dearly loved the old man, and wept 
because he was no more. 

The father of this girl was the superin- 
tendent of the Asylum. He also was stand- 
ing by, and offered to accompany me through 
the building. On the way, he proved very 
willing to gratify my curiosity concerning 
the stranger who had excited in me so singu- 
lar an interest. 

A Peculiar Delusion. 

I soon found him to be an intelligent, 
kind-hearted man, who had entered instinc- 
tively into the thoughts and wishes of poor 
Robin, and yet had failed to appreciate what 
I may call the religion of his character. 
His daily familiarity with the varied forms of 
insanity may in part have been the cause. 
He had at once regarded him as a patient 
laboring under a peculiar kind of mental 
delusion, without looking beyond. In con- 
sequence of this, there was much in our 
conversation which grated harshly on my 
own feelings. I loved better to think of the 
old man, as I had first seen him, sitting in the 
midst of the picturesque scenery of the 
landslip, than confined within the gloomy 
walls of a pauper asylum. 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



593 



The close rooms through which we passed, 
the dull tones of the superintendent's voice, 
his conviction of poor Robin's insanity, and 
even the compassionate interest with which 
he spoke of him, all interfered with the 
brightness of the image which my own 
mind had previously formed. It would have 
been more in harmony with my thoughts, to 
have heard from the child who was weeping 
for him, the simple narrative of the old man's 
life : but, perhaps, the contrast in the color- 
ing of the picture only brings out the more 
strongly its intrinsic beauty ; and for this 
reason I will still endeavor to trace it as it 
was first presented to my own view. 

A Long Time in .he Asylum. 

The outline is soon drawn. Poor Robin 
had, for more than half a century, been an 
inmate of the asylum. No one could tell 
from whence he had been brought there, or 
say anything with certainty of his previous 
history. 

It was, however, generally believed that 
he had known better days, but that some 
very heavy affliction had brought on mental 
derangement: and that, in consequence of 
this, his property had gradually gone to 
ruin, until at length he was consigned to a 
pauper asylum. He had been placed there 
under a very different system of treatment 
from that which now prevails. 

It had even been thought necessary in the 
first instance to confine him with handcuffs 
and chains : and he would often struggle, in 
a paroxysm of passion, to set himself free. 
But after a few years, all the more violent 
symptoms of his disorder had entirely dis- 
appeared, and he became so quiet and re- 
signed, that the physician had considered it 
safe to release him from his bonds, and suf- 
fer him to wander at large within the pre- 
cincts of the asylum. 
38 



" There can be no doubt of the facts, sir," 
continued my guide, " for the marks on poor 
Robin's wrists prove him to have, at one 
time, undergone a very vigorous confine- 
ment ; and yet, when I came here, I found 
that he had been long in the enjoyment of 
comparative freedom. But it is a case that 
always perplexes me, when I think of it ; for 
the general effect of harsh treatment is to 
render the patient more violent and intracta- 
ble than before; and I cannot understand from 
what cause the change in poor Robin's con- 
duct could in the first instance have arisen." 

Resigned to His Bondage. 

" Do you not think," I asked, " that it 
may have been a sign of returning reason ?" 
He smiled at the question, as he replied, 
" So far from it, sir, that it was accompanied 
by a new and extraordinary delusion, which 
never afterwards entirely left him. He fancied 
that the bonds which he felt and saw were 
merely imaginary, and that there were other 
invisible chains which were the real cause of 
his confinement. They say, that from the 
time this idea once gained possession of his 
mind, he made no further effort to recover 
his freedom, but even thanked the attendants 
for the care they were taking of him, and 
became as gentle and submissive as a child." 
Then I remembered the metaphor which the 
old man had employed when the marks on 
his wrist had attracted my attention ; and I 
said within myself, that it was not indeed the 
return of reason, but a brighter and a far 
holier light, which had thus shone on the 
poor captive, and brought peace and resigna- 
tion to his soul. 

After his partial release, the manners and 
language of Robin had soon excited observ- 
ation, and strengthened the belief that he 
must at one time have known better days. It 
was not, however, till the milder system ol 



594 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



treatment was introduced generally into the 
asylum, that the full beauty of his character 
had developed itself. Since that time, he 
had gradually won the affection of many of 
the patients, and had become an object of 
deep interest to all visitors. They had often 
come for the express purpose of talking 
itfith him. 

What was Thought of Him. 

" And," continued my conductor, " I often 
listened with wonder to the various interpre- 
tations they put upon his answers. Some 
would discover in them poetry ; some, philo- 
sophy ; some, religion ; some, I know not what, 
according to the previous bias of their own 
minds/' I inquired in what light he himself 
was disposed to view them ? " As the wan- 
derings of insanity," he replied ; " for poor 
Robin was, undoubtedly, mad :" but pre- 
sently added more thoughtfully, " yet there 
was something in his peculiar kind of mad- 
ness which I could never exactly fathom." 

I asked, whether no friend or relative had 
come to inquire after the old man, during 
the long period of his confinement ? " No 
one," answered my conductor ; " and so far 
it was a mercy that he had been deprived of 
his reason, since his madness prevented his 
being aware of his own solitary condition." 

"How do you mean?" I said; "surely he 
could not help feeling that he was alone?" 

" On the contrary," he replied, " he fully 
believed that he had a wife and children and 
home, and would speak, from day to day, of 
going to join them. Poor fellow! at one 
time, those who had the care of him would 
argue with him, and endeavor to explain to 
him that he was under a delusion. And the 
old man would soon get confused in his rea- 
soning, and end by wringing his hands in an 
agony of grief. 

'• But, since I have come here, I have 



thought it best to humor him in the belief; 
and not only forbidden all contradiction on 
this subject, but encouraged the attendants 
to talk to him about his home, and promise, 
that if he behaved well, he should go there 
very soon. You will hardly believe that I 
have seen tears of joy run down his cheeks 
at these simple words. Yet some have said 
that it was almost cruel to encourage a hope 
which must end in disappointment at last." 

" But did it end in disappointment ? " I 
said, following my own thoughts, rather than 
addressing my companion. 

His Hope Grew Stronger. 

He seemed struck by the remark, and, 
after a pause, replied, " Why, sir, one can 
hardly say that it did ; for the hope seemed 
to grow stronger instead of weaker, as year 
after year passed by : and he continued in 
the same happy delusion to the very hour of 
his death. I have often thought that this 
imaginary home was a source of greater joy 
and comfort to him than the possession of 
any actual home could have been. When 
anything vexed or disturbed him he would 
say, that when at home he should feel it no 
more. When he felt dull and depressed, he 
would rouse himself by the thought, that he 
was going home. I myself have, at times, 
felt disposed to envy him his belief: and 
there was something very wonderful in the 
influence it gave him over his companions." 

I inquired how this belief could influence 
others. " Because," said he, " Robin was 
unable to separate the present from the 
future ; and so it was part of his confusion 
of ideas to believe that those with whom he 
lived here would live with him in his home 
also. It is the only instance I have known 
of a person under the influence of insanity 
being able to impart his own views to his 
companions. 




%^ /7.O.R. 



VAIN TASK TO MERELY CLIP THE OUTER SHOOTS, 

LET THE HUQS R***-'"" BF SEVERED FROM THE ROOTS. 



595 



596 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



" But there seemed to be a kind of infec- 
tion in the old man's madness ; and more 
than one patient, who had previously been 
plunged in hopeless despondency, was gradu- 
ally led to take interest in Robin's home. 
The effect has been so salutary with us, that 
I have often wished the same happy delusion 
could be introduced generally into other 
asylums." 

Did Not Know His Poverty. 

I was following the deep train of reflection 
awakened by this remark, and wondering 
how far it might indeed be possible to graft 
religion on the imagination, and so to soothe 
and cheer the dreams of insanity with the 
hope of heaven, when my conductor again 
resumed the conversation. 

"There was, sir," he said, " another delu- 
sion of the old man's, scarcely less happy in 
its consequences than his belief about his 
home. You might have fancied that, from 
having once known better days, he would 
have felt bitterly the degradation of his new 
condition ; but the whole time that he was 
in the Asylum he seemed utterly uncon- 
scious that he was dependent on the parish 
for support" 

"Do you mean," I asked, "that he 
imagined something had been preserved 
from the wreck of his own property?" 

" Not in the least," he replied ; " he was 
fully aware that his own property was gone; 
but he believed his daily wants to be sup- 
plied by a kind of miracle, and would often 
observe that he had gone on for more than 
fifty years without making provision for the 
morrow, and yet had never known what it 
was to be without clothing or food. Of 
course, sir, I did everything in my power to 
encourage him in the belief; but one day I 
was greatly annoyed to find a visitor, who 
was not aware of the old man's peculiarities, 



endeavoring to explain to him that the parish 
was bound to find him support." 

"And did he," I asked, " appear much 
hurt at the discovery ?" 

" Fortunately not, sir," he replied; "and 
this, I own, quite took me by surprise ; for I 
greatly feared lest the consciousness of his 
dependence might destroy that feeling of 
self-respect, which, in all cases of insanity, it 
is so important to preserve. But Robin was 
rathei pleased than vexed at the idea of the 
parish providing for him. 

A Contented Spirit. 

" Presently, however, he grew bewildered, 
and shook his head, and said that, after all, 
the parish could not provide for him beyond 
a single day, and that perhaps to-morrow he 
might be at home. The visitor was begin- 
ning to say something in reply : but Robin's 
home was with me sacred ground, and I would 
not suffer the argument to proceed farther." 

Another pause of some minutes followed, 
until I broke it by inquiring whether the 
child whom I had observed at the entrance 
was related to the old man. 

" Oh no, sir," he replied; "little Annie is 
my own daughter, and many persons have 
wondered that I suffered her to be so ca 
stantly with him. But I consider the soci^ 
of children to be very beneficial to the insane , 
there is something in their ways and lan- 
guage which they can understand far better 
than our own ; and this was peculiarly the 
case with poor Robin." 

"And do you suppose," I said, " that the 
child liked to be with him ? " 

" Undoubtedly," he replied ; " for the 
choice was her own. I merely encouraged 
it. But Robin had an inexhaustible stock of 
fairy tales, which made him a great favorite 
with children ; and Annie would sit and 
listen to them for hours together." 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



597 



" Do you really mean," I asked in some 
surprise, " that they were fairy tales ? " 

" Why, sir, for that matter," he answered, 
" poor Robin himself believed them to be 
true, and it was that which gave a peculiar 
interest to his manner of telling them. 
Some visitors have fancied them to be a kind 
of allegory : and I have often traced in the 
words a double meaning, of which the old 
man himself could hardly have been con- 
scious. But, however this may have been, 
it is clear that they were connected with his 
particular mental delusion, from the way in 
which his imaginary home formed the promi- 
nent feature of every story." 

Story of Annie. 

I expressed a wish to hear one of them, 
and yet was hardly sorry when he confessed 
himself to be unable to comply with my 
request. He told me that he had only 
heard them in detached portions, for the 
patients in the Asylum were too numerous 
to allow him to devote as much time to poor 
Robin as he might otherwise have done. 

" But, sir," he continued, " little Annie 
knows them all by heart, though I am afraid 
to-day she is feeling too deeply the loss of 
her companion to be able to repeat one. 
There certainly was something very singular 
in her fondness for the old man, and I have 
often been perplexed at the kind of influence 
he had over her. She herself was some- 
times a sufferer from his delusions, and yet 
always fancied poor Robin must be in the 
right, and would submit to his wishes with- 
out a murmur or complaint. On one 
occasion, I myself felt called upon to inter- 
fere." 

I begged him to relate the circumstance to 
which he referred. 

" It was, sir," he said, " on Annie's ninth 
birthday, in November last. I had given 



j her in the morning a new Victoria half-crown, 
and she went immediately to exhibit her 
treasure to her friend. She looked grave 
and thoughtful on her return ; and, when I 
asked what purchases she had made with 
her present, she confessed that the old man 
had begged it of her, and she had given it 
him. The next day I told Robin how wrong 
he had been to take the poor child's money. 
But he answered, with his usual strangeness, 
that he did not in the least want it, and had 
asked for it because he loved little Annie, 
and wished to do her a kindness. Now, 
most people would have thought that this 
was rather a reason for giving her a present 
than for taking one away. And yet the old 
man spoke the truth, for he knew no better. 
It was one of his peculiarities to imagine that 
he was conferring a favor when he received 
one." 

Loaned All His Possessions. 

There was a passage from Holy Scripture 
which this answer suggested to my mind. I 
remembered " the words of the Lord Jesus, 
how he said, It is more blessed to give than 
to receive," 1 and I repeated it, rather to my- 
self than to my companion. The words, 
however, caught his ear, and he observed 
that it was very likely I had hit upon the 
truth ; for the understanding texts of Scrip- 
ture in their literal meaning was one feature 
of poor Robin's insanity. 

With a view to pursuing the subject fur- 
ther, I inquired whether the old man had 
restored the money. 

"No, sir," replied my guide; "and this is 
the most provoking part of the story. I 
should not so much have minded if he had 
wished for it as a keepsake from the child ; 
but he said he had lent it to some compan- 
ion who had more need of it than himself." 

1 Aete xx. 35. 



CHAPTER II. 




HAVE reserved for a separate 
chapter that part of my conver- 
sation within the walls of the 
Asylum which led to a descrip- 
tion of the closing scene in the 
old man's life. I was still 
reluctant to admit his insanity, 
for it seemed to me that he had 
only so fully realized the presence of the 
unseen world, as to have forgotten altogether 
the things of sight in the things of faith. 

I inquired, therefore, of my companion, 
whether any more decided symptoms of 
madness had ever exhibited themselves than 
those which he had already mentioned. He 
appeared surprised at the question, but 
replied that, though the old man was always 
more or less under the influence of the 
disorder, there undoubtedly were certain 
periodic returns of it, and that these 
uniformly occurred at the commencement of 
spring. 

"And did these," I asked, "render him for 
the time violent and intractable? " 

" Oh no, sir," he answered ; " ever since I 
have known him he has been the same quiet 
and inoffensive creature, and his madness 
used rather to assume a melancholy form. 
He became sad and dejected, and refused to 
eat, and would pass whole days together in 
his own solitary cell. On one occasion, my 
wife sent little Annie, in the hope that she 
might cheer him ; but he would not even 
admit the child ; he told her that his father 
was then with him, and that he would not 
talk to her. I went myself when I heard 
this ; but, on opening the door, I found, as I 
expected, that he was alone." 
-^98 



"Perhaps," said I, "he may have meam 
that he was praying to his Father in Heaven ' 

"It is not unlikely," he replied; " fo 
prayer was one way in which at these 
seasons his madness most frequently exhibited 
itself. I mean," he added, observing my 
look of surprise, "that he did not then pray 
like other people, but would often remain 
whole hours together upon his knees." 

And I remembered how the prophetess 
Anna was said to have served God with 
fastings and prayers night and day, and how 
our blessed Lord Himself had continued a 
whole night in prayer to God ; but I made 
no further reply. 

"The doctor," resumed my conductor, 
"considered the long solitude to be so bad 
for him, that for the last few days he had not 
suffered him to remain in his cell. It was, 
perhaps, this circumstance which turned the 
current of his thoughts into another channel v 
and led to his wandering from the Asylum. " 

He Started for Home. 

I was not sorry to change the conversation, 
by inquiring how he had contrived his escape. 

"Nay," he replied, " it is hardly fair to 
speak of it as an escape. We were never 
very strict with the old man, and often 
suffered him to go beyond the boundaries. 
On the present occasion, he had made no 
secret of his intention, and told one of the 
attendants that he was anxious to pay his 
wife and children a visit, and should soon be 
back. I have no doubt myself that he 
intended to keep his word ; but he probably 
started, in the first instance, in a wrong 
direction, and so lost his way." 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



699 



"What do you mean," I asked, "by his 
starting in a wrong direction ? I thought 
you were ignorant from what part of the 
island he had been brought here." 

" True, sir," he replied; "but Robin him- 
self always fancied that his home lay toward 
the east: the little window of the cell he 
occupied looked in that direction; and though 
it was too cold for him in the winter months, 
we never could persuade him to change it 
for one with a southern aspect. He always 
said that he did not feel the cold, as long as 
he could see his home. Now, there is 
nothing but a small hamlet visible from the 
window, and, of course, when the old man 
did not return, I sent to it to inquire after 
him." 

A Stream of Light. 

"And had he been there? " I saiu. 

"No, sir," he replied; " and, after \. Listing 
many hours in the search, we at length 
heard that he had been seen walking along 
the road which led direct to the UnderclifT. 
It was this circumstance which enabled him 
to get so many miles from the Asylum before 
he was overtaken. But, as I said, I do not 
think that he intentionally misled us, but 
only missed his way." 

Now I knew full well that the village of 

B was not the home of which the old 

man had spoken ; but, when I remembered 
the agony with which he had implored to be 
allowed to proceed thither, I could not 
believe that mere accident was the cause of 
his journey. I resolved to return thither to 
prosecute my inquiries; but, before I left the 
Asylum, asked to see the room which poor 
Robin had occupied. 

"This is it, sir," said my conductor, as he 
threw open the door of a low narrow cell. 
"You will find it smaller and more comfort- 
less than many others, but it is the one in 



| which he was placed when he was first 
brought here ; and he had become so fond 
of his little window, and the view towards 
the east, that it would have been a mistaken 
kindness to force him to change it." 

I scarcely heard the words of apology, for 
I felt a sudden thrill as I found myseli 
ushered thus unexpectedly into the chamber 
of death. The old man was lying upon his 
narrow bed, and a stream of light through 
the open window fell upon his tranquil 
countenance. A single glance was sufficient 
to tell me not only that he was indeed dead, 
but that his end had been full of peace. 
There was no convulsion of the features, and 
the first symptoms of decay had not yet 
appeared. His eyes had been left unclosed, 
but the wandering light was no longer there, 
and the smile which from time to time had 
been wont to play across his lips, rested 
quietly upon them now. The one idea that 
his look and posture alike conveyed to the 
mind was that of perfect tranquillity and 
repose. I felt that his long journey had at 
length been finished, and that the old man 
was at rest in his home. 

The Last Sleep. 

My companion also seemed for a while 
absorbed in thought. He advanced softly to 
the bedside, and it was not until, with a 
gentle hand, he had closed the old man's 
eyes, that he broke the silence by observing, 
"Ah, sir, morning after morning I have found 
him lying thus, and gazing through the open 
window. His sight was gradually becoming 
very weak from the glare of light, but he was 
unconscious of it himself. And it was but 
yesterday he told me that in a little while he 
should be no longer dazzled by the bright- 
ness of his home. Poor fellow ! when I 
came into the room a few hours since, ar-i 
saw his eyes so calm and motionless, though 



600 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



the full rays of the sun were falling upon 
them, I knew that he must be dead, and 
could not help thinking how singularly his 
words had come true." 

There was something in the tone of voice 
in which this description was given, that 
proved the speaker to have some secret feel- 
ing of its allegorical meaning, though he 
himself would probably have been unable to 
define it. 

A Bible and Prayer-Book were lying on 
the table by the bedside. I turned to the 
fly-leaf of the former, in the hope *"hat I might 
at least gather from it the poor wanderer's 
name. There was written in it, "Susan 
Wakeling." I conjectured that the sacred 
volume must formerly have been his own 
wedding present to his bride. I replaced it 
on the table, and it opened of its own accord 
at the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the 
Hebrews. The page was much worn, as 
though it had not only been often read, but 
many tears had fallen upon it. 

Seeking a Country. 

My eye quickly rested on the passage, 
" These all died in faith ; .... and confessed 
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the 
earth. For they that say such things declare 
plainly that they seek a country. And, 
truly, if they had been mindful of that 
country from whence they came out, they 
might have had opportunity to have returned. 
But now they desire a better country, that is, 
an heavenly." 1 And while I read, it seemed 
as though I had found the text to the old 
man's history. 

Another smaller volume was near them. 
My conductor told me that it was the gift 
of the chaplain. I inquired whether the 
chaplain used to come often to see him. 
•Very frequently," was the reply. "He 

1 Hebrews xi. 13-15. 



took great interest in poor Robin, and the 
old man was grateful for it. It certainly was 
singular," he added, thoughtfully, "that on 
his return yesterday evening, he should have 
expressed so earnest a wish that the chaplain 
should be sent for." 

"And did you refuse?" I asked. 

" Fortunately not, sir," he replied. " I 
hesitated at first, for it was very late, and 
poor Robin was evidently much exhausted 
with the fatigue and excitement of the day. 
But he became so anxious about it, that my 
wife interceded for him, and told me she 
thought he would go to sleep more quietly 
after he had been here. I well remember 
now the peculiar emphasis with which the 
old man repeated her words, and said, ' Yes, 
yes, I shall doubtless go to sleep more 
quietly after he has been here.' It almost 
seemed as though he felt his end to be near 
at hand." 

I begged to know what passed at his inter- 
view with the chaplain. My companion, 
however, could give me no information as to 
the first part of it, for the old man had 
desired to be left alone with him, and his 
wish had been at once indulged. 

The Burden Gone. 

" But," he continued, " on our return to 
the room, we found him looking more light 
and cheerful than we had ever before seen 
him; and when I congratulated him, he said 
that it was no wonder, for a very heavy 
burthen had been taken away. 

" My wife stayed for some time watching by 
his bedside. He remained perfectly still and 
silent, though his eyes were open. At length 
she asked him whether he did not feel tired, 
and wished to go to sleep ? And she tells 
me, that he smiled like a little infant, as he 
replied, ' O no, not at all tired ; for all that 
wearied me has been taken away.' And 







THE SLAVE OF HABIT BREAKS HIS GALLING CHAINS, 
4ND THROUGH ALL-CONQUERING GRACE HIS FREEDOM GAINS. 



60! 



602 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



then, after a pause, he added, ' But you may 
wish me good-night now for I shall be asleep 
very soon ; — and tell dear Annie I am 
going home.' He spoke in so cheerful a 
tone that my wife little thought they were 
his last words, and she left him, as she fancied, 
to repose. But it was a sleep from which he 
never woke again." 

"Ah, sir," he continued, "it seems a sad 
thing to die thus forsaken and alone ; and 
yet, after all, many who have kind friends 
and relatives round their sick-beds might 
envy poor Robin his peaceful end. He 
went off so quietly at last, that those who 
slept in the room adjoining were not dis- 
turbed during the night by the slightest 
sound. But early this morning, when I came 
to inquire after him, he was lying just as 
you now see him, quite dead ! " 

Released from Prison. 

The deep feeling with which these words 
were pronounced, convinced me that he was 
,no less touched than myself by the contem- 
plation of the outward tranquility of the old 
man's death. But who can realize the 
inward peace that must have been there, 
when the body fell asleep, and the soul was 
released from its long imprisonment, and 
carried by angels on its homeward journey ! 

As we left the old man's room, I inquired 
whether there were many besides little Annie 
who mourned his loss. A smile again 
crossed the features of my companion, as he 
replied : 

"There were many of the patients who 
loved him almost as dearly as the child her- 
self, but I can scarcely speak of them as 
mourners now. A report spread among 
them this morning that Robin was going 
home; I cannot tell from what quarter it 
arose, but when I came to them, they crowded 
round me to know if it were true." 



"And did you," I asked, "then tell them 
that he was dead ? " 

"Not in so many words," he replied. "I 
merely said that he was already gone home, 
and that they must not expect to see him 
here again. And more than one voice 
exclaimed in reply, 'Happy, happy Robin 
to be taken home ! ' " 

Still I observed that I had remarked on 
the countenance of many of the patients an 
expression of sadness. 

"True," he answered, "for with them the 
transition of feeling from joy to grief is very 
rapid. They are not, however, sorrowing 
for poor Robin, but for themselves, because 
they have not been allowed to accompany 
him. There were some, in the first instance, 
who were very loud in their complaints ; but 
I soothed them by saying that it was right 
the old man should go first, because he had 
been here so long." 

Mourning for Robin. 

After a pause, he continued : " It is my 
own wish, as well as the chaplain's, that 
many of them should attend the funeral, for 
I would gladly pay this tribute of respect to 
Robin's memory. And yet I am half 
reluctant to give way to it : the remembrance 
of the scene might afterwards throw some 
gloom over the bright and happy notions 
which they have now formed of his home." 

I replied that it might be so ; and as I said 
this, I could not help feeling that the scene 
after the old man's death had been in perfect 
harmony with his life, and that poor Robin 
was rightly rejoiced over and rightly 
mourned. 

My account of my visit to the Asylum has 
already far exceeded the limits which I had 
assigned it. And yet, at the risk of being 
wearisome, I cannot refrain from adding one 
more fragment from my conversation within 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



603 



its walls, before I proceed to the more pleas- 
ant task that lies beyond. With a view to 
prosecuting my inquiries in the village of 

B , I asked my companion whether 

Robin had ever dropped a hint of his former 
calling. 

" Oh yes, sir," was the reply ; " he used to 
say that he had enlisted as a soldier very 
early in life, and had at one time been made 
a prisoner. I have seen the tears run down 
little Annie's cheeks at the piteous tale he 
would tell of the way in which his enemies 
had bound him hand and foot, and cast him 
into a dark and terrible dungeon, from which 
he had hardly escaped with his life. But I 
believe the whole story to be imaginary, and 
it is one that I have little difficulty in 
accounting for. He doubtless referred to .he 
hardships he endured at the period of his 
first imprisonment in the Asylum. No one 
can wonder that they should have taken so 
strong a hold on his imagination." 

Feared a Secret Enemy. 

"Did he, then," I asked, "believe that his 
warfare had long been at an end? " 

" No, sir," he replied. "And perhaps it 
would be more correct to say that the treat- 
ment to which he had been exposed was the 
origin of his delusion, than that it accounted 
for it. The idea that he was liable to the 
attacks of some secret enemy seems from 
that time to have taken a fixed possession of 
his brain ; and if any one assured him that 
he never could be subjected to the same ill- 
usage again, his invariable answer was, that 
there was no safety for him except at home. 
And then he would maintain that having 
once enlisted, he could never cease to be a 
soldier, and talk of treacherous foes and long 
watchings and doubtful conflicts. You 
would have imagined him, from his conver- 
sation to have been one who was fighting 



and struggling all day long, instead of the 
quiet, inoffensive character that he really was. 
But this, sir, was not all ; he would fancy 
that every one else was a soldier also. He 
almost persuaded little Annie that she had 
enlisted in the same army with himself; and 
often made her sad by talking of the enemies 
who surrounded her, and the service she was 
required to perform." 

The Valiant Soldier. 

I here interrupted him by asking whether 
the child had not been baptized. He at once 
perceived the drift of the question, and 
replied, "I know what you mean, sir, — she 
was then made the soldier and servant of 
Christ." 

"Yes," I added, "and entered into a 
solemn engagement to fight manfully under 
his banner, against sin, the world, and the 
devil." 

"True," he answered ; " and it is very 
curious that it was the old man himself who 
first pcinted out that passage to me. I 
remember it struck me at the time that his 
peculiar notions about soldiers might, in 
some way, be connected with it. And I 
think it far from improbable; for Robin's 
madness seemed principally to consist in his 
regarding metaphors as realities, and realities 
as metaphors. The difference between him 
and ourselves would be, that he believed 
little Annie to be really a soldier, and not 
merely to be called one in the Bible." 

I made no further reply, for my own 
thoughts grew perplexed, as I tried to deter- 
mine with myself what were truth and 
realities, and what merely shadows and 
metaphors, of the things pertaining to our 
present existence. 

The recollection of little Annie has made 
me wander from my story, and I must now 
hasten to bring it to a conclusion. I left the 



604 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



Asylum, pondering deeply on the things I 
had heard and seen. My heart was sad 
within me ; for I could not help giving way 
to a feeling of compassionate sorrow as I 
thought of the old man's solitary lot. 

His past history seemed, indeed, to be lost 
in almost hopeless oblivion. But I knew 
that he must have been crushed and broken 
down by some terrible calamity in early 
youth ; that he had been awakened from the 
stupor which it produced to the stern reality 
of bonds and chains, and then been doomed 
to a dull unvaried captivity, not for days, 
weeks, or months, but for a long period of 
more than fifty years. 

A Gloomy Picture. 

Thus Reason kept drawing a melancholy 
picture of one without home, without friends, 
dependent on charity for his daily bread, 
whose whole existence was a dreary void, 
with no employment to beguile his thoughts, 
no hope to cheer him on his way. It needed 
only the recollection of that peculiar solitude 
of mind, which is almost the certain offspring 
of insanity, to complete its gloom. 

And yet, after all, it was my own infirmity 
which made me sad ; for, when I had strength 
to gaze on the same picture with the eye of 
faith, bright and beautiful were the images 
that I saw. 

I then perceived that he was not without 
home, for his home was in the land of spirits 
beyond the grave ; he was not without 
friends, for his wife and children were wait- 
ing for him there ; while he remained upon 
earth, he was not dependent, for he felt his 
daily wants to be supplied by a Father's care; 
he never, for a single instant, was without 
occupation, for he had a long warfare to 
accomplish, a distant journey to perform ; 
and still less was he uncheered by the bless- 
ing of hope, for he was able to rest in humble 



trust on his Saviour's promise, and go on, 
day after day, laying up treasures for himself, 
which neither moth nor rust could corrupt, 
nor thieves break through and steal. 

Out of the loneliness caused by his afflic- 
tion he had created a new world for himself, 
or rather, he had been drawn by it to live in 
that world which, though unseen, God has 
really created for us all. And surely to him 
life could never have been dull and unvaried, 
while he was able to trace the types and 
emblems of spiritual things alike in the pass- 
ing gleams of sunshine and in the dark 
shadows that rested upon his path ! 

Was he Insane? 

Mingled with these conflicting emotions, 
the question from time to time arose in my 
mind, "And was poor Robin really mad? " 
And again it was only my own infirmity which 
caused me to shrink from the reply. It is 
hard indeed to define madness ; and the state 
of his intellect probably varied from time to 
time. Thus it may have been almost with- 
out a cloud when little Annie was his 
companion. 

So also, during my brief interview with 
him, the stillness of the evening, and the 
unison of his own thoughts with the sur- 
rounding scene, may have breathed a sooth- 
ing influence upon his mind. And yet when 
I reflected calmly on that very interview, I 
felt that they were right in not suffering the 
old man to travel alone along the journey of 
life. 

His was the second childhood ; simple, 
pure, and holy as the first, and yet, in his 
case, no less than the first, requiring a pro- 
tector's care. He spoke and thought as a 
child, and children could understand him; 
but the calm mirror of his mind quickly grew 
troubled in his intercourse with men, and he 
then lost fhe power of explaining his 




FRESH FLOWERS BLOOM AND LIMPID FOUNTAINS PLAY 
TO CHEER THE TRAVELLERS ON THEIR UPWARD WAY. 



a.D.R 



605 



606 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



thoughts, or perhaps of himself distinguishing 
between the shadow and the substance, the 
things of sight and the things of faith. 
Reason had resigned her sway during the 
mental conflict which had been caused by 
his calamities ; and though peace and quiet- 
.ess had been restored, she never had attained 
iufficient vigor to resume it again. 

Weakness and Strength. 

Nay, more ; it may be that her lamp was 
^he more dim and uncertain, on account of 
the brighter and clearer light which from that 
flme burned unceasingly in his soul. It is 
possible that he was slow in observing the 
different shades of color that passed across 
earthly objects, because to his eye one unfad- 
ing color was resting upon them all ; and 
that his mere intellectual faculties remained 
weak and palsied, because out of this very 
weakness he had been made strong, and he 
was at all times conscious of the presence of 
a surer support and safer guide. 

And what matters it, if it were so ? Why 
may we not revere poor Robin, and love 
him, and learn from him, and yet not shrink 
from acknowledging that his reason had 
gone astray? Surely, there is no one who 
would not gladly leave the hard dull road of 
life, if only they could wander with him 
along the same bright and happy paths ! 
There is no one who would not give the 
choicest gifts of reason twice told, if only 
they could purchase for them the childlike 
faith of a simple-hearted man. 

I was half sorry when my arrival at the 

tillage of B made me change these 

silent meditations for the attempt to investi- 
gate the old man's connections and history. 
It was not, however, mere curiosity that 
prompted me to do so. I was anxious, if it 
were possible, to save him from a pauper's 
grave. 



For a long time my inquiries were in vain. 
Some few, indeed, had heard of poor Robin ; 
for his fame, as I have said, had spread 
beyond the walls of the asylum; but the 
name of Wakeling was unknown to them ; 
and they did not believe he had ever been 
connected with the parish of B — - — . They 
referred me, however, to the cottage of the 
oldest inhabitant of the village. She was a 
widow, of very great age, having lived to 
see four generations around her. A few 
years since, they said she was able to speak 
distinctly of events that had happened more 
than half a century ago, but latterly her 
memory had become impaired. 

When I mentioned to her the name of 
Wakeling, the word at once awakened some 
recollection of the past. She twice repeated 
it, and added, almost mechanically, " Good 
and excellent people, sir, and very kind to 
the poor." But when I questioned her as to 
their occupation and history, and asked what 
had become of them, she shook her head, as 
though the thread of memory had been 
broken off, and she was unable to unite it 
again. 

As a last hope, I referred directly to the 
spring of 1 8 — and inquired whether it had 
been marked by any particular occurrence. 
"Ah, sir," she replied, " much of the past is 
now like a dream to me, but that is a period 
which I never can forget." 

Death by the Plague. 

The tone of sadness in which these words 
were uttered, proved some deep sorrow to be 
connected with the remembrance of it ; and 
on further questioning, I learnt that it was a 
season in which an infectious fever had raged 
in the village, and that whole families had 
been carried off by its ravages ; she herself 
had been left an orphan. But though her 
recollection of the illness itself seemed as 



THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 



607 



vivid as though it had occurred but yester- 
day, of the Wakelings she could say nothing 
with distinctness. It may be that her mind 
was too absorbed with the remembrance of 
her own grief to allow her to recur to that of 
others ; or it may be that, even at the time, 
in the general affliction the loss of an indi- 
vidual, however grievous, had been scarcely 
noticed, and soon forgotten. At length she 
seemed to grow weary of my importunity, 
and said, " I cannot tell who may have lived, 
and who may have died; you must go, sir, 
to the churchyard, and there you will find 
the only certain history of that fatal spring." 

A new thought was suggested by these 
words, and I repaired thither in the hope 
that I might find that information, which I 
had sought in vain from the living, among 
the silent records of the dead. 

The evening was now drawing on, and it 
was in truth the very hour at which but yes- 
terday I had parted from the old man. I 
was alone ; and as I trod, with a cautious 
reverence, upon the green sod, there was no 
sound to break the tranquility of the scene, 
save the ripple of the waters at the edge of 
the cliff on which the churchyard stood. 

Their restless motion only made me feel 



the more deeply the stillness of the hallowed 
ground itself; and I thought, that if the old 
man had been with me, he might have found 
in it an apt emblem of the quiet resting-place 
of the dead, lying on the very borders of the 
sea of life, and yet untroubled by its mur- 
muring, and sheltered from its storms. 

I was not long in discovering the object 
which I sought. The rays of the setting sun 
at once directed me to a stone at the eastern 
extremity of the churchyard. It was 
distinguished from those around by a simple 
cross ; but in spite of the soft light that was 
now shed upon it, it was with difficulty that 
I deciphered the inscription which it bore. 
For not only was the tomb itself thickly 
covered with moss and weeds, but my own 
eye grew dim with tears, as one by one the 
few sad words revealed to me the secret of 
the old man's history. His restlessness 
during the spring, the object of his last 
solitary journey, and parts of his conversation 
with myself, which before had seemed 
obscure, was now fully explained. The 
inscription was a simple record that the old 
man was indeed united at last, in body as well 
as spirit, to those whom he had so dearly 
loved and mourned so long;. 



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